Closer to the Rising Sun
by TheCrazyAuthors
Summary: Third volume of the ALBN series. Lilac wants a second chance at turning her life around, and she gets it-in the way of a test of resolve and how far she'll push her dreams this time alongside the spirits of the past.
1. The Countdown

_Once upon a time, I said that I wasn't going to do this._

_I lied._

U MAD BRO?

_Anyway, this volume will completely rip apart the last two and throw them into the garbage can because I HOPE that I've improved since at least the first one. Soooo yeah. Hopefully this won't be crap._

_A word of advice: If you haven't already read the first two volumes, I advise that you do so. They're both crap, but they were also both written a year ago, so there's really nothing I can do about that._

_I might write a revamp of ALBN somewhere down the road, but that 'somewhere down the road' is very, very far away._

_For anyone who's confused, this is the third volume (NAWWWW durrrr) of an OC-insert series. The first volume focused around Okami. The second volume was a prequel, with a different main character taking the camera focus. This time, we're handing Lilac back her main character status for Okamiden. Fun plot time, everyone!_

_And for the next two volumes... Because there ARE two more... I'm not telling._

_Chapters 1-4 on this volume (1-7 on the old outline) are already on deviantART, but I'm changing a lot of stuff in the chapters that are there. The first part of this chapter has been completely rewritten so the song is Nyan Nyan Special Medley, not Real Emotion, and the 'first four chapters' have been mashed together into one. Because they're all plotless prologue fun._

Fantastic, right?

_And probably no, all the chapters from here on out will not be as long as this one. Hopefully a few, but not all._

... just read the chapter already.

**Lilac: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/Okamiden or the one character from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. She also does not own the song Nyan Nyan Special Service Medley from Macross Frontier-**

**Senom: WOOOO, TEAM RANKA!**

**Lilac: - ... which includes the songs Lion, Infinity (#7), Watashi no Kare Wa Pilot (My Boyfriend is a Pilot), Diamond Crevasse, Seikan Hikou (Interstellar Flight), What 'Bout My Star, Ai Oboete Imasu Ka (Do You Remember Love), and Aimo. Yes, I watch too much space opera anime. Anyway, the idiot only owns yours truly and the lyrics she wrote for them. Excuse me while I go try to kill myself.**

(Magical line break of doom.)

"_For my deepest and most cherished prayers to one day reach to you_

_Under the cherry tree I shall sing again today_

_All the answers that we've sought will always lie right here_

_For so I was once told..."_

_October 1_

__I spun around in the chair, drumming my fingers against the sides and glancing over at my partner. "So, _Sheryl_, think we can pull this off?"

"You tell me, _Ranka._" She replied, attaching her earring. I just shrugged and tugged at my cape a bit.

"Wish I had a monocle on me. Then I'd _really_ look dapper."

Emily almost choked, half laughing as she turned to me. "You're not even singing Niji-iro Kuma Kuma."

"What? I like the outfit anyway. It's not like you're the one doing Diamond Crevasse, yourself." I got up. "Showtime?"

"Yeah, let's get going..."

0-0-0-0

_It's been nine months since I left behind the old world. To be honest, my memories are starting to slip away... I can barely remember some parts of it, but a few are shining brighter than the rest._

It's hard to tell if it was a dream or not. I woke up like it was, but maybe...

_That doesn't matter now, anyway._

The van rolled to a stop, and my brother turned to give Emily and I a thumbs up. "Good luck."

"Got it, Claus." I threw the door open and jumped up, spinning around. "Think I pull off a good Ranka?"

"Not cheerful enough." Emily leaned over in her seat and had a brief makeout session with Claus before getting out herself. "I told you we should've switched."

I shrugged. "That's why we switched image songs. C'mon, we need to find a good table inside. We're already fashionably late."

"Our Alto had a deal with me." My partner just winked.

"You lost your earring in his locker?" I raised an eyebrow as we stepped into the cafeteria. She just snickered.

"Something like that..."

We snuck around to a table. Elliot glanced up when I smacked him on the shoulder, lightly. "Who's up?"

He turned and handed me the talent show list while Emily started chattering with Brittney.

_It's weird. After I woke up, after vacation ended, I got into my own group of misfits. Elliot and Brit are like Emily and I-we've all been friends for years, in a way. Everyone knew me, but I was never really around anyone until Emily started going out with Claus._

_I guess my luck just turned around after I started doing... my job._

_Oh, right. My job._

There was still half of the current performance going on before Emily and I were up, so I clasped my hands together and silently sent out a prayer. _To the gods and spirits of the world, thank you for continuing to watch over this land of mortals. I pray that you will forever thrive and prosper, and that one day humankind can continue to believe. Thank you, for everything._

It was weak, but all I could offer- my thanks. I'd been making the same prayer every day and just hoping that it was enough.

Of course, that wasn't all I gave. I had something else to give, and _damn _did I ever give it. Whether it was the sun or moon shining, I'd do it and give it my all.

Speaking of...

Jordyn and Chris finished up onstage and rushed back down to the table. Emily and I exchanged a glance before nodding and heading up to the stage.

_I want to think that I've matured since then. That I've grown up, that I'm a better person._

Truth is... I'm the same crazy brat I was when I left.

_I just believe now. But... that's all._

We made it on stage and both grabbed our mics as the music started in the background. And I let the feelings flow.

(A/N: _**If you want, play Nyan Nyan Special Service Medley ~ Macross Frontier at this point in time. If you want to imagine along with it, Lilac (playing Ranka Lee) sings all of the 'lighter', more bright and cheerful vocals, and Emily (playing Sheryl Nome) sings the harsher, more emotional ones. You'll be able to tell who's who pretty quickly. Also, Seikan Hikou and Diamond Crevasse's singers are switched. Enjoy the show! ... Or just skip over it, whatever.)**_

"_Minna_!"

"_Everyone!_"

"_Dakishimete!_

_"Hold me!"_

"Ginga no... hatemade!"

"Until... the end of the galaxy!"

The lights went out, two spotlight flickered on, and I felt my heart practically bursting out, wanting to release the energy.

I let it all go.

"_The stars will spin when you hold them at the core of all time!  
Somewhere in the woods the butterflies will dance just for you..."_

"I've seen the door leading to your heart, and you don't guard it that well!  
What an embarrassing tale;

_"Take one false step, you've landed in the lion's den!"_

_"I want to survive_

_My spirit will shine on_

_As the song of the galaxy!  
Until you see the other side, inside of me  
I will not forget love..."_

I've been practicing my ability to change emotions into power through music. No one ever really told me about it then, but it took some guesswork and a lot of practice. Now, if I'm singing, I can turn emotion into energy and make people feel it. Not just that, I can take in theirs.

I glanced over at Emily. Her feelings were focused completely on Claus. Not a surprise. All she was giving out was what I wrote in the lyrics, and it had worked perfectly.

On my side... Well...

That was why I'd chosen Ranka.

_"I cannot forget because of you_

_For the feelings I hold clasped close to my heart_

_You can never erase my love!"_

_"Embrace the eternal goodbye!  
Embrace the eternal love!_

_If I should die before the dawn, the world will go with my heart!"  
_

_"I will go on, grace at my feet_

_I will go on, all tears left behind..._

_"I will see you at the promised place, so won't you please wait for me!"_

"Kyun kyun, kyun kyun!  
Watashi no kare wa,"

"Watashi no kare wa...

"Pilotto!"

This was where things had gotten switched up. I let go of the charade of sounding young and cheerful and let out the darker side.

It just sucked that I was still spouting a bunch of lies, but what the heck, right...?

"_If we are born again, oh find me my darling and never let go...  
This is our last chance, this is my only chance:  
To say goodbye, it's a fleeting moment so please hold on to my hand...  
If we are to lose it all, won't the planet tell me I'm not alone..."_

"My soul might keep living in your mind, please never let go

_I came this far, alone as I may be, because you're there for me...  
Was I ever truly alone is my eternal question;  
The answer is so close, isn't it?"_

Emily took control, pulling off a better cheerful facade than I'd been able to.

"_KIRA~!_

Take a ride on a shooting star with me,

_Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall  
Can't you see in the sky where stars are alive_

_We're the main show, take a shot, here with me_

_And my last act is to say, I love you..._

_And my last act here is to say, I love you!"_

We switched roles again. Good.

"_Darlin' don't you hear me calling you?_

_No you, no life is how my world's run!_

_Need your heart and need your love;_

_Yeah let's swing and kiss~!"_

_"I believe in true love, so don't go!  
You and me, we can make life so exciting_

_One more chance: no rules!  
I want to see you..._

_I'll give it all to you!"_

"Three, hey I'll count down!"

"Two are you ready?"

"One, it's showtime!"

"Zero, let love ring out loud!"

"What bout my star~?"

_"I want to survive,  
Even if no one can see_

_I vow to always love you!  
I'll shake the universe if it brings me to my end!_

_To sacrifice my nature_

_I'll offer up a prayer  
I vow to always love you!  
Until you see the other side, inside of me I will not forget love!"_

We went out of character for a second to grin at each other. "Speaking of remembering love..." Emily winked as the other classic came on.

Which was, unfortunately, another one that was nearly impossible to translate, so I'd just given up and left it as was.

"_Oboete imasu ka? Me to me ga atta toki wo?_

_Oboete imasu ka? Te to te ga fureatta toki..."_

"Why were we born into this world?"

"What were we born in this world to do?"

_"I want to survive_

_My spirit will shine on_

_With the light of the galaxy_

_And I will shake the universe if it brings me to my end!"_

_"I'm not alone anymore, because..."_

_"I want to stop my endless search_

_And be by your side, to rest till the end of the world..._

_And if you see the other side inside of me_

I will never forget our love!"

I could feel the emotions at full blast now. I didn't care if it was all lies-I amplified the feelings. _Finish it off with a bang!_

_"I know that I'm not alone anymore..._

_Because you're here with me..."_

_"I want to survive_

_Even if no one can see_

_I'll shine the song of the galaxy!_

_Let the stars guide our new path..."_

"I promise to survive

_My spirit will shine on_

_I'll sing the song of the galaxy_

_I'll let you see the other side, inside of me_

_And grant you my eternal love!"_

We both stepped away as the music continued for a few moments, then I took the finale into my own hands.

_"Aimo aimo neede rushe_

_Nointa miria enderu purodea..."_

I glanced over at Emily, who was busy wiping the sweat forming on her forehead as the song ended. She just gave me a thumbs up, laughing.

"Best seven and a half minutes of my _life_!"

I probably would've agreed if I hadn't been spewing lies from my mouth the whole time.

0-0-0-0

_October 2nd_

A few hours later, I was alone.

The only sound in the bedroom was the steady heartbeat of the pocket watch clasped in my right hand. It was about past midnight, I knew that much, and the room was blanketed in nothing but shadows.

I should've found it so easy to sleep. If I were anyone else in the entire world, maybe I could've found some solace in the nighttime and just fell into a peaceful dream until the morning.

Fate is cruel that way.

When my eyes grow heavy, I dread the nighttime. Because instead of solace, all I find in my sleep is my darkest fears chasing me. They'll take me in their clutches and force me to watch all the pain I've seen, every black and white moment frozen in my memory.

That's the only time that I don't want to forget. Because when I try and submit myself to a night in the darkness, it kills the light in front of my eyes.

Over.

And over.

And again.

I try to stay awake as long as I can. I can see my eyes reflected in the watch's surface-it's the thing I care for most in the world at this point. My last memory, the last bit of evidence that I can cling to that I can believe in something. Every night, I focus on that surface and nothing else.

Sometimes, I imagine I can see my memories reflected in it.

I flipped the watch open, running a finger gently across the face of it. Barely, I could make out the hands pointing to 1:45 AM. I groaned, rolling over on the bed and staring at the ceiling. It was going to be a long night.

I could either fight the nightmares and face the day like an enemy instead of a friend, or I could take my chances and try to catch precious little sleep.

"Yeah, like that'll happen." I muttered under my breath, getting out of bed and climbing on top of the windowsill. I may have been able to climb up there when I was a child and snuggle myself between some pillows, notebook cradled in my arms and writing silly little drabbles running through my mind. These days, I was a little too old for that, but I would still find a way to sit up there and watch the skies for a while.

Sometimes, I wondered.

_I could almost pretend that I was alone, standing in a graveyard in the middle of the night. If it could be called a graveyard, really-there was only one grave, and a little girl in a black dress would always sit curled up at the grave's base, weeping._

_I couldn't speak. I couldn't call out. I couldn't run away. All I could do was pace across the grass, waiting for some event that never happened._

Minutes would pass, melting into what seemed like hours. When the starlight dimmed down and nothing was visible anymore, a hand grabbed mine. Dozens followed.

_I'm not as strong as I want to be._

I'm still a child at heart...

_... afraid and useless._

That'll never change.

_And I screamed. _

A shrill alarm burst to life, causing my eyes to jerk open. I turned over, my own screams still ringing in my ears, trying to make out the numbers on the clock. 6:35 AM.

Well, I had gotten some sleep. That had to count for something.

I tried to push off my covers, ignoring the temptation to lay back down and try to find dreamless sleep. That nightmare had long had its clutch on me, and had never let go.

It hurt, the feelings that I'd kept submerged for so long after I'd learned to believe.

I grinned and looked over at the mirror on the wall. "Get dressed, you worthless thing." I quoted to myself, and then started the day.

~*~

"LILAC!"

"Oh god what'd I do this time." I whirled around, just then opening my locker and getting crushed to death by Chris hugging me.

"We got first place last night!" Jordyn chimed, grinning. I highfived the twins, still trying to get my breath back.

"Nice!"

"Hey, you did good too. You and Lockheart got second." Chris told me, holding up a piece of paper. Sure enough, our names were listed.

"That's great." I tried to smile and then grabbed my books from the locker. "Hey, I'm gonna get to class. Crazy Pre-Algebra teachers wait for no lazy student."

"True. See you in fifth period!" Jordyn called, sprinting down the hallway with her sister. I sighed and looked at the inside of my locker.

Last year, it had been covered with dreams and fantasies. This year, there were two poems and one picture. I stared at myself, holding hands with another girl my age.

"For once, Claus has his dating priorities straight." I muttered, glancing at Emily in the photo and then slamming the door and walking off.

Elliot and Brittney were waiting in Pre-Al.

"Good job last night." Brit gave me a highfive as I slid into my seat.

"You better have told the twins that, too. They're the ones who made someone spit out their punch laughing." I told her.

"Girl, did you hear that applause when you went off the stage?" Brit laughed. "The only reason why you didn't get first was because... well... errr..."

I glanced at her dully, one eyebrow raised. "Terrible lyrics?"

"That's not true-! I mean hell, Li, you wrote them, anyway-"

"You know Chris and Jordyn were kidding." Elliot told me, already copying down the homework. "... crap, what was number fourteen last night? Think I skipped it."

Brittney and I exchanged a glance.

"Did you even do yours?" I asked, grinning.

"Shut up." She muttered. I turned to Elliot.

"Negative twenty nine."

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

I glanced out the window throughout class, thinking. That nightmare from last night... it came every night now. I couldn't avoid it, couldn't run away from it.

I didn't want to face the truth of it. And that was what still scared me.

0-0-0-0

A few hours later, some of my worst fears were confirmed in homeroom.

"So." Brittney slammed her books down on the desk in front of me and I winced. When Brit got angry, she got angry and let everyone know it. And by 'let everyone know it', that usually meant 'turn best friend into scapegoat'.

"So?" I tried weakly as Brittney sat down backwards in her seat. She gave me a dark look.

"So I got Elliot to come over to our table today..." She trailed off as Emily walked in. I waved, trying to be oblivious to Brit's glare boring a hole in my skull. "It was just fine until we left and I realized, oh yeah, _he didn't say a word to me the whole time._"

I facepalmed. "Brit, I hate to break it to you, but don't you think you're rushing this just a little bit? Give the poor guy some breathing space. Elliot's just the type that goes a little... slow, you know?"

"And you know someone of the fast type?" Emily asked, sitting next to me and grinning. I shrugged.

"How long did it take Claus to get together with you?" I covered up. The real answer was nothing I could say here. Not here, not now.

Never, nowhere.

"Your brother doesn't count!" Emily laughed. Brittney cracked a grin despite herself and I turned back to her.

"Just give it time, Brit. Elliot'll come around, and if he doesn't-" I paused for effect. "-then the guy doesn't deserve you."

Brit nodded. "All ri-" She paused. "Hey."

Oh god, I knew that look in her eye. That look that spawned a fear in me that caused every blood cell in my body to freeze up and scream a resounding, "Oh crap." A resounding "Oh crap" of panic I hadn't felt in months. "Li, I thought you never dated." Brit grinned and Emily joined in.

"You have seemed a bit more educated on dating than you used to lately." She chimed in. I winced, sinking back in my seat and digging for an excuse, an escape.

"Well-" I sat up straight again. _Keep your composure. Don't let yourself cave in, not now._ I told myself. "-Maybe it's because I read way too many freaking romance novels a certain SOMEONE keeps supplying me with!"

Both girls burst out laughing, to my eternal relief. "Okay, so I should stop being your book supplier?" Brittney asked, giggling.

"Hey! Those words never once left my lips and you know it!" I snapped playfully, laughing along with them.

The rest of the period went on like usual. I'd escaped confession for another day, I thought with relief, staring out the window of the classroom absentmindedly.

Not even Emily, my partner in crime for everything I was too geeky to admit to anyone else about, knew what had transpired that had really changed me. I'd kept it a secret, locked away under ink on a page that danced around the truth with lighthearted riddles that I called poetry these days. I kept the memories locked away, trying to keep myself seeming sane.

I wanted the key to open that lock again, though I never admitted it.

I wanted to open that lock and embrace the memories in one more sweet life-changing dream.

It would be better than the frequent nightmares, that was for damn sure.

But when I really thought about it, maybe...

I looked down at my poetry notebook, hidden under my desk and cradled in my lap. Taking a sharp breath, I eased it closed.

_Maybe I didn't deserve a second chance._

"Hey." Emily interrupted as the bell rang, both causing me to jerk up. "You remember what tomorrow is, right, Lilac?"

Students piled out of the classroom, chattering excitedly about the freedom of another day, another week. Friday. What a sweet escape it gave us.

I deadpanned, turning back to an expectant Emily and Brittney. Both giggled, exchanging those 'idiot' glances.

_Tomorrow... okay, you can focus for a minute on this_. I thought. _Tomorrow... October third... October thir-CRAP!_

"OH CRAP!"

"Yep. See you later!" Brit called, darting off to catch her bus. Emily turned to grin at me.

"Sorry I can't come over tomorrow. Tell Claus I said hi and I love him, okay?"

"Yeah." I muttered, head spinning.

"Happy early birthday, Li!" Emily called as she left.

I was silent for a moment before cursing.

"How the HELL did I forget my fifteenth birthday?"

0-0-0-0

The house was silent and empty when I got off the bus, just the way I liked it on a Friday afternoon. Claus claimed to have 'plans' when I texted him-"Big fat surprise," I muttered-and mom was at work late, like every week.

A brindled cat jumped up on the couch to greet me as I fell back, dropping my bag on the floor by my feet. I ran a hand through her fur in greeting.

"Hi, Luna." I grinned. Shadow, a black cat, wrapped his tail around my lower leg in that possessive way of his. The two cats of the Alexis household were a different sort. Shadow was an old cat, older than me. Maybe the whole 'cats have nine lives' thing had something to it after all. If so, Shadow certainly didn't waste his.

Luna was six years old. She might have been a little crazy, I remembered, grinning at her curious pupils staring into mine, but she was a sweet cat and she cared, for sure. Both of them did.

Luna gave a mew of hello while I greeted Shadow. "Okay, you guys, seriously, if you don't let me up I'll be trapped on the couch until doomsday."

After five more minutes of hopeless joking, begging, threats, and overall general comical insanity, I managed to hit the bathroom and pull the ribbon that kept my hair tied down and without being trapped again, dragging a comb through it and looking at my reflection with mild half-interest.

I really hadn't changed much over the course of nine months. Gotten a little taller, maybe. I was still, unfortunately, as pale as a freaking vampire, which wasn't any shocker. Every time I wore the clothes that I did that day-ironically, a long-sleeved blue tee and matching skirt-I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. It had been a half-prank, half-dare to myself just for fun. And maybe memory. And even though the scar had been gone when I woke up, sometimes I pretended I could still see the bandages wrapped around my upper right arm.

Fate was cruel to me that day.

I glanced in the mirror again, pressing a hand against the glass.

"Who says goodbye is really goodbye?" I asked my reflection softly before laughing.

"Now that-" I noted, grinning, "-I would take as a birthday present."

And then, I froze.

Reflecting in the glass behind my figure was a woman who looked about in her twenties, hair shock white and reaching her shoulders, eyes reflecting mine-lavender, with a hint of a childish, mischievous spark.

I knew that spark.

"Grandma?" I whirled around, greeted by an empty wall. Heart dropped to my chest, I took a deep breath and left the bathroom, heading up the staircase and into my own bedroom. Shadow laid there on my pillow, looking at me expectantly as I laid back.

"What do you think?" I asked the cat softly, running a hand through his fur. "Do I really even deserve a second chance in the past?"

I was replied to with a stare.

"Or am I as crazy as Luna?" I asked him, giggling. The other cat came into the room as if she'd heard, jumping on the bed beside me and curling up.

I didn't realize it until much later, but I had no nightmares that night.

I guess it compensated for the fact that the true nightmare was still yet to begin.

0-0-0-0-0

_October 3rd_

_I think I'm losing him. _

I stared out the window, notebook cradled in my lap again. It was raining now, storming furiously like the end of the world was upon us.

_He's been getting worse. It really doesn't help that Emily and I are really all he's got... Mom's just been getting distant and we're pretty much on our own now. _

_I think I'm going to lose Claus too, just like I lost her._

_I think I'll be spending today completely alone. I don't care. It'll be fine._

_... Happy freakin' birthday to me._

The notebook slammed shut, and I sighed, staring out the window again. If it rained any harder, the street was probably going to start flooding.

I got up and laughed to myself. Nine months hadn't changed me a bit. I was still the immature psycho girl I'd been, even at the start of the adventure.

Sure, I'd been doing my job. Secretly, anyway. I had secrets to keep, sanity to pretend I still had.

There was a louder clap of thunder outside than usual, and I groaned, throwing the window open. Freezing rain instantly started pounding my face, drenching my sleeves while the cold turned my face ashen white in seconds.

"Will you _shut up_ out here?" I yelled to the storm. Surprisingly, it started dying down almost instantly. With one last reluctant boom in the distance, the tempest turned into a light shower.

"And thank the gods for that!" I snapped irritably, slamming the window shut and going in search of a towel.

Somewhere in the hall, I glanced up as the clock struck 11:42. One more minute until I was fifteen.

"Fifteen down, not many to go!" I cheered to myself unenthusiastically, pulling the stopwatch hanging on a chain around my neck out of its hiding place. The silver surface hadn't been scratched at all, and the gear engraved into it was as visible as ever.

I flipped it open. On one side was the clock itself, ticking on steadily like a heartbeat. On the other, engraved in words so small they could only barely be seen, was the message '_Belief is in the eye of the beholder.'_

"Thanks, _Grandpa_." I smirked. I'd never actually bothered to call him that before.

Maybe that's the first place where I had gone wrong-I'd respected my grandparents more like friends than, well, my grandparents.

There were fifteen seconds left, and time seemed to slow down. I shut the stopwatch and returned it to its original position, clasping my hands together.

_"To the gods and spirits of the world, thank you for continuing to watch over this land of mortals..."_

The clock struck eleven forty three, and everything went straight to hell.

All of the sound in the world, all of the light, went out in a flash of blue fire. I fell to my knees, pain exploding through my chest like I'd been stabbed. The fire turned lavender, no heat touching my skin but instead freezing me like I was drowning. Blue sparks burst from a spot at the base of my throat.

The stopwatch.

My hands clutched onto it, the metal now chilling my skin. It was like it had turned to ice-my fingers couldn't pull away once they were wrapped around it, and the cold became numbing. The clock ticked on like a heartbeat, and in an instant, everything stopped.

I was alone again.

It was like I was actually drowning, now. I _was _drowning. Blood raced by my eyes in clouded blurs, wrapping around me in wisps. Pain still plunged through my stomach, but whatever had stuck itself in me was crystallized.

The ice broke.

And I opened my eyes.

"Sleeping like that really isn't going to help you out much this time around." A familiar voice told me, a gauntlet-clad hand closing on mine. "Come on, Li, get up."

I struggled to get up to my knees and was pulled up to my feet, glancing up and resisting the urge to scream with delight. My grandfather grinned, blank eyes flashing.

"Well, you did say you'd take it as a present. I guess this counts. Happy birthday, Li." He paused.

"Welcome back."

(Enter a line break here, because our local Line Break seems to have run away. Er. ... yeah.)

_This is the longest chapter in the ALBN series yet and most likely will be the longest you'll ever get._

_... Okay, Eye of the Storm and Back to Reality might beg to differ, but not even the ending chapters here in Closer are going to be this long._

Anyway, I'm aiming for a chapter per Saturday. So, next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **Chapter 2 - Something like Happiness**!

__**Lilac: Review. Because. Yeah. ... What, you wanted me to do better because it's the first chapter? Oh, whatever, someone else is doing the next one, anyway.**

Senom: Dammit, I can't stop you people from getting in my author's notes, can I?

Lilac: It's because you left the door unlocked and the keys were... er... dropped in the incinerator.

Senom: ... we don't have an incinerat-

**Lily: *clicks camera off* See you all next week!**


	2. Something Like Happiness

_Welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun!_

Which we are hereby dubbing Closer from here on out because yeah.

Fun times.

_In this chapter, we get right to the fun stuff! And have a considerably shorter chapter than the last one! And update considerably earlier than promised because bored Senom!_

_Yeah, yeah, kill me for it later._

Thanks to **TheManWithBacon **and **TheGreatMikeyWeston **for your reviews! Reviews are love, everyone. True story.  


_... oh wait, I've used that one before, haven't I?_

_And now... let's open up the chapter._

**Li: ... why am I doing the disclaimer again?  
**

**Senom: Because no one else wants to do it, now shut up and do the disclaimer.**

**Li: Whatever. Senom doesn't own anything except yours truly, the usual shebang. Just read the stupid chapter, already.**

0-0-0-0-0

There were so many thoughts, so many emotions, racing through my brain in that one moment that it was hard to tell what they all were. To this day, I don't know if I was really laughing or crying when I threw my arms around my grandfather and hugged him.

"Oh my god, I'm back, I'm back," was all I could choke out. Oni just laughed and hugged me back.

"I missed you." I whispered finally, catching my breath. A cherry blossom petal brushed my shoulder and I laughed again, feeling alive again for the first time in nine months. The land was alive...

And I believed.

"Missed you too, flower girl." He pulled away. "Sorry for the lack of warning, but we're kinda pressed for time this time around."

I froze, all the joy taken out of my expression.

"Please tell me that's not a world-saving schedule you're talking about. Because if it is, send me back and do it now."

"Sorry, Li." Oni grimaced. "It kinda... is..."

"I hate you, send me back. I hate adventures and you know that."

My grandfather burst out laughing. "Sorry, I don't think that's what you said nine months ago."

"My opinion on adventures has changed." I sighed. "So what's the real reason you brought me back? Cause I know it wasn't just a 'birthday present'."

Oni rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "It's a long story-"

"Tell me or I'll slap you." I told him flatly. For those of you who don't get the reference, please refer to Chapter 11 of Volume I.

We both turned. "No one needed the cue, author."

"I know!" Senom called cheerfully. "Now get back to the script or I'm cancelling for real!"

We both facepalmed and I lowered my voice. "Okay, before we get any further, tell me this honestly. How many people actually studied their script in the past week that Senom's had this version out for us?"

Oni paused. "Out of Group A? Probably a grand total of two."

"And Group B?" I knew exactly who that grand total of two were, and I made a mental note to yell at every other main character in some way, shape or form for that. And then I turned to glare at the viewer through the screen. "Just what the hell do you think [i]you're[/i] looking at?"

My grandfather thought a moment. "All three."

"Three? You're supposed to be part of Group B about halfway through this plot arc." I accused.

"That's why I said a grand total of two for Group A! I never study my script, you and Lily both know that!"

I noticed Senom lurking behind him with a frying pan, and sighed. "[i]No,[/i] retard."

"Aww." She wandered back off.

I sighed. "We need to get back to the scene before that happens again."

"Agreed. Okay, what's my line..."

"Just wing it." I muttered, starting to get agitated. "That's what everyone else does, APPARENTLY."

"Right. Well." Oni coughed. "This war broke out about a week ago on the Celestial Plain."

"Wait a second." I choked. "What happened, the person I hate most this side of the timeline finally fell off a cliff?"

"Ha, we wish. No," My grandfather's expression sobered. "I don't know how it happened. Demons just started popping up everywhere, and the place became a battlefield."

"So everyone..." I trailed off.

"So far, we're fighting a losing battle. Which is why three people are being trusted with the job of turning the tide in our favor." He paused. "You, me, and-"

He was cut off by someone in the distance yelling out my name. By the time I'd turned around, I was just in time to get tackled to the ground by an energetic wolf pup.

"... and him." Oni finished, laughing as I tried to fight off the heavy-duty face licking to the face I was receiving.

"Okay, okay! I get it, you're happy to see me, whoever you are!" I laughed, petting him. He switched gears and tackled Oni's leg while I got to my feet.

"Dang it, Chibi, rule one! RULE ONE!"

I extended my hands without thinking about it and grinning at the green glow that appeared in them half a second later. "Someone's been going through argument withdrawal if you actually missed me." I grinned.

"And you're still a smartass, Li," my favorite dumbass after Oni retorted.

For those inevitable few of you just joining us, please refer to Volume I of what I like to call Ye Olde Chronicles of Elizalilac Yuria Alexis.

Senom's pencil slowed. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it goes."

I turned to glare at her. "Who's narrating here, me or you, Miss Lazy-Ass Author Angsty Dipshit McGee?"

"Whatever." Senom muttered, leaning back and clicking the mechanical pencil. "Just keep going."

... also known as the first volume of the A Lily Blooming in Nippon series.

Anyway, let's continue with the story before the narrator herself strangles her author.

Back to the story, folks!

"Oh, goody! You haven't forgotten me while you were busy perving on every girl you met for nine months straight. I'm _so proud_ of you, Issun."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't get used to the happy-happy-joy-joy partner me, I've been busy giving Mini-God over there the grand tour." Something gave me the feeling that he was pointing at the wolf pup, whom Oni had knelt down to greet.

"And everyone knows that your skills with children are at an all-time low."

"So are yours."

"You really want me to start with you?"

"Why the hell not?"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"The music of teenage love, huh?" Oni made mock-puking sounds. He was rewarded with the both of us flipping him off. "Oh, that's just GREAT to do in front of an infant, infant sun god or not."

"Do you REALLY think we care." I deadpanned. He shrugged.

"Meh, not really, but I'm allowed to try."

"Aha, ahahaha, aha, aha, no, your trying rights were revoked nine months ago."

Oni facepalmed while I stood back, letting Issun jump back onto the ground and crossing my arms. "All right, seriously, I'm putting puzzle pieces together. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I muttered under my breath.

"I wish I didn't."

"... please tell me you don't think-"

"Li, it's none of our business, let's just leave it at that." He suggested. "And if we don't, mind forever scarred."

"Deal." I agreed. "With that out of the way..."

The wolf pup turned and tackled me again, this time greeted openly. "I would say I'm willing to put money on the fact that I have an idea of who you are, but screw that, I'm broke."

_I know who you are!_

All right, that coined the fact that nine months had driven me crazy when I heard a little kid's voice in my head.

_Is it that surprising? I didn't think so, they said I couldn't talk normally, but I guess this works too-  
_  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nudge, put a stop sign on the tracks." I looked the wolf pup in the eye. "It's you. Isn't it."

"Li, have you finally gone off the rails?" Issun asked slowly. I flicked him in reply.

_Maybe._ The pup gave me an innocent look and I decided to try something.

_Can you hear me like this?_

Yeah.  
  
Point one for team Lilac, I figured something out!

... please tell me no one got that on tape.

"Okay," I started slowly, "So either I'm completely insane at this point or I've got 'Mini-God' talking in my head. You guys can't hear him?"

_He guessed some of what I've been saying right, but no one can hear me._

"Not a word. I could hear him earlier, so..." Oni frowned. I paused.

"Earlier? You were with him earlier?"

"During the escape, yeah."

"I am out of the loop and not okay with that." Issun announced. I flicked him again.

"Everyone else is, so deal with it."

"Screw you!"

"Guys, don't start." Oni muttered, bored. I rolled my eyes, turning back to the wolf pup/'Mini-God'.

"Okay, Issun's nicknaming skills are the worst you'll see this side of Taka Pass, so I kinda might need to know what your actual name is before you're scarred for life by what you get from him."

"Hey!"

The pup paused, as if thinking, then gave me a sly grin. _Momma_ _called me Chibi_.

"Works for me. Better then calling you Mini-God." I stroked Chibi affectionately and then turned on my grandfather.

"What do you mean, 'the escape'?"

"I told you already, the place is a battlefield." Oni muttered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was the one who got him out. Everyone else is... still fighting."

"Lily too?" I asked, voice softening, coming out weaker than I would've liked.

"Sorry, Li. Lily too."

I gritted my teeth. "She... she'll be fine. If all else fails, Lily's inexplicable ability to cause insanity wherever she goes will keep her alive."

That threw the mood back into the 'What just happened never mind start laughing' zone.

After another pause, I stood up, to Chibi's dismay. "We should figure out what we're doing first. Adventures start somewhere, much as I hate adventures." I pointed out.

"Well, we WERE going to go talk to Sakuya first..." Issun trailed off. I groaned.

"Ohhh no we don't. We'll be standing there for an hour trying to get her to shut up so we can leave."

"You have any better ideas, smart one?"

I facepalmed. "... I hate you. So much."

"Isn't that something I hear every day." Oni walked past me as I sighed and looked up at the sky. Uncontaminated by time, uncontaminated by refusal of belief.

And I prayed.

I prayed that at the end of all this, maybe, just maybe, I would know that I did belong.

It was a hell of a lot better than still trying to turn my fate again in a world where it didn't exist, anyway.

And no matter what chaos stared us in the face... I knew that I wouldn't have it any other way.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Blah blah blah short chapter blah blah blah shut up I'm making it better on you people by having cut the outline down by sixteen chapters. *headdesk* We're just not there yet._

_Lilac: Translation: She finished editing this on Monday morning and decided to just leave the content itself alone._

... shut up. *keeps head down*

_Next chapter of Closer to the Rising Sun: **Got the Message.** See you all... not next week, because chapter 3 is being put up along with two. Just because I'm ahead and impatient because I'm a terrible author._

**Issun: Review~!**

Lilac: Oh you are KIDDING me. Who let him in here?

Senom: *dully* I believe it was the same one who 'dropped the keys in the incinerator'?

Lilac: *too busy sputtering to reply*

Senom: And my job is done.


	3. Got the Message

_Welcome to chapter 3 of Closer, in which Lilac is actually honest about being a sociopath!_

*hit in the back of the head with a book*

Lilac: ... I deny everything.  


_no seriously she finally admits to being a sociopath, scared of other people I think you guys get the message by now oh hehe look I can make puns too-_

**Lilac: If it SHUTS HER UP, Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or LoZ: Majora's Mask. *starts smothering author with pillow***

Senom: I REGRET NOTHINGGGGGG *flails*

**0-0-0-0-0**

For those of you who are NOT just now joining us, you might have noticed two volumes ago that I try my absolute best to stay away from the community areas.

Okay, that's not strictly the truth, and it's more like 'whatever fate's paying attention is apparently very nice and helped me out of the way' and not 'Lilac stays away on purpose'. But whatever.

Same thing, right?

Anyway, that pretty much meant that I got to deal with facing up to my state of social awkwardness on THIS adventure. Whether I liked it or not.

Yeah, you heard me. Brave, snarky Li is subject to people problems. Who would've thought.

Oh, wait. Everyone.

"Guys?" I started hesitantly five minutes after the whole 'meet-and-greet'. "Anyone have any alternatives to actually going in the village? Just, uh, just asking."

"What are you, shy?" Issun asked sarcastically. I looked away.

"It's been nine months, I don't KNOW anyone here, shut up..." I muttered, fixing my gaze on a rock in the wall that was so freaking interesting.

I could almost pretend it had a rainbow on it.

Moving on.

What? Fan points? SHUT UP, this isn't chapter 15 of ALBN! We gave up on that a long time ag-

Senom interrupted the story by shoving the script in Lilac's face. "Li. There always have been and always will be author notes, and there always has been and always will be the fan points thing."

"That never existed, that was you trying to make a lame joke." The narrator snapped, taking the script and throwing it in the trash can. "Go back to writing, already."

"Jerk."

"I try."

(Line Break says guys, the day when I purposefully come in here to shut you two up is the day I have a disfigured text feature child. SHUT. UP. Who's cleaning up the fourth wall here? Is it you two? NO. It's ME. SO SHUT UP SO I CAN CLEAN THIS THING UP IN PEACE.)

"Sheesh, harsh much?" Senom muttered, pulling the blanket back over her head. "Just keep going, Li."

"Retard."

~*~

Back to the story. For the tenth time.

"Chibi doesn't know anyone either," Oni pointed out.

"He's differe-hey!" Said wolf god smacked his tail against my leg, and while ink covered tail is synonymous with wet tail, it also hurt. Bonus depression points! "I wasn't trying to insult you, okay?"

_Yeah, sure_, he huffed. How you can huff telepathically, I don't know, but he pulled it off.

Note to self: ask how he does that later.

_I'm on your case_, I told him.

"Li, you're fifteen," Oni pointed out, not hearing anything. Hooray for the telepathically deaf.

... I don't know what I'm saying anymore.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"When the hell-" Issun started. I turned to him.

"Just today, actually."

"Happy freaking birthday."

"Thanks, can you do me a birthday favor and shut up for a day?"

The cut on my arm was SO worth it.

"You're fifteen, probably the most violent teenager I know-" Oni tried to continue. I cut him off again.

"Why thank you."

"... and yet you're still scared of dealing with people you don't know."

I paused. "And yet I'm not the oldest member of the group here that has an inexplicable phobia of owls."

That put an end to _that_ argument.

Oh, wait, no it didn't.

"Li, you DO stand out..." Issun decided.

"_Thank_ you!"

_Hello, infant sun god right here._ Chibi noted irritably.

"Like I said, you're differen-Quit that!"

_I'll stop when you stop calling me different._

I gritted my teeth and looked at the wolf pup_. I'm TRYING to get along with you here. Come on._

He just gave me an innocent 'I'm only a kid' look.

I hated those looks.

"We ALL stand out," My grandfather pointed out. "You only don't because people know you."

"I'm popular," Issun declared. I flicked him, not bothering to ask what we'd missed during the telepathic conversation.

"Of course you are. While I'd LOVE to sit here and argue the day away with you for nostalgia's sake, we're losing dayligh-"

Chibi flicked his tail. Something told me he just used Sunrise. Lovely.

"You know what I meant. Quit that. Anyway, there's..." I paused, wincing at the change in my tone. I hated it when I sounded helpless. Useless. Afraid. "There's got to be a way for me to, um, get around this." I tried to steel my voice.

_Not working_, a voice in the back of my head taunted.

_Shut up_, I told it in the same singsong tone.

"Now that you've put it that way..." Issun trailed off.

"Don't you freaking dare," I snapped, remembering that tone. It was the 'I've got a retarded idea' or the 'let's get back at Li for everything she's done to me' tone.

"Oh, I would dare."

"Guys. Shut up." Oni groaned, just as Chibi practically mimicked my _Quit that_ from a few minutes ago.

"Okay, how about this." My grandfather decided. "I'll stick around out here and wait. Issun, give Chibi the tour and then catch up with Li."

"Wait, what am I going to do, run like hell?" I asked, right as Issun muttered "since when are you in charge?"

Oni grinned. "Give me the stopwatch, I'll show you."

I hesitantly unhooked the chain and handed it to him. Oni twisted the dial. "This thing is set to accept you, me, and Lily if it needs to. It works for passing over space just like time, but I have to be around for it to work. If not, the device deactivates its magic."

"Got it." I nodded as he pressed the stopwatch back into my hands.

"Here, it should work now. Give it a shot. And see you later." My grandfather grinned and I turned around.

"All right. Hey, moron, don't cause the apocalypse while no one's watching you. See you in fifteen minutes, maybe. Don't fall too far behind talking just to listen to the sound of your own voice, kay?" I smirked at Issun and disappeared with his comments I'd rather not repeat behind me.

I'd face it later.

~*~

All right, I admit it, I'm a hypocrite.

There. Add that to the list of my glaring faults. I'm shy, can't go five seconds without getting into a fight with someone, exceedingly violent, and I'm a hypocrite. Nice little list we're getting together, huh?"

Anyway, the point is that I spouted a series of cuss words that would make Cid Highwind himself cry as soon as I landed on those stone steps.

Moving on.

Aside from preserving my sanity and self-respect, I'd actually had a reason for wanting to use speedrunning tactics. Namely, the glaring problem that I was utterly helpless and needed to see if luck was on my side.

In short: I needed something I'd lost nine months ago and planned on getting it back.

In any case, stalking up the stairs, having a freaking lovely time of things, and contrary to what the games show? The walk up that staircase is _long_. So guess who had her thoughts for company.

Or in this case, muttered ramblings.

I pulled out the stopwatch and stared at the metal. "So what was the blue fire all about, then?" I mused, watching my reflection give me absolutely no help. "And the drowning feeling..."

Blood. I saw the wisps of blood circling me again, and I had to place a hand against the cliff wall next to me to keep from falling. My body felt... heavy. Heavy with fear, like I'd turned to stone. All the air had been pressed out of my lungs.

And then, it was _cold_. Like my body had been shrouded in ice. I felt something tugging at my heart like it was on a chain and trying to escape, feeling the urge to just scream.

And then it was over, and I was back on the hellishly long staircase of joy and rainbows.

"What the hell are you?" I whispered, looking down at my hands. One time I could pass off as a hallucination, maybe side effects of the time travel getting back. Maybe I was going crazy. Then again... "Whatever's happening to me..."

I couldn't help wondering if that was what possession felt like.

... but would possession really feel like you had felt that emotion before, like it was a memory and not a passing thought?

I tried to shake it off. _You're going crazy because you didn't last time_, I told myself. _A lot's changed. It's probably your brain trying to say 'this isn't logical, what is this I don't even-_'

I cut myself off and just kept running, passing through the Torii gate (see? I've been doing my research) before finally slowing to a stop and catching my breath.

Nothing had changed. Cherry blossom petals fell in a storm, and the air was practically screaming, _this is what spring feels like!_ (For those of you uninformed, the author and narrator both live where there practically is no such thing as spring, it goes from winter to summer with a transition of maybe three weeks tops.)

It took everything I had in me not to burst out singing Reset. Or Hanataba. There'd be time for the latter later-

"It's been a long time, hasn't it? Welcome back."

Oh, yay! Long conversations I didn't want to have!

... the narrator's obviously spent too much time with the author, can you all tell?

The narrator was then promptly smothered with a pillow, possibly a revenge tactic and possibly to shut _her_ up for a second.

And now continuing the story. [**enter scribbled note from author: We have GOT to go back to the filming format. This is seriously getting old already.]**

_Okay, turn up the respect factor, Li. Don't get yourself randomly turned into one of those fruit-flinging trees,_ I told myself. _Here goes nothing_.

"Hi, Miss Sakuya." Oh, why the hell not_. Just get out of there and do it soon._ "I'm just warning you, pervert boy's not too far behind, so um, be careful."

"I will." The wood sprite laughed, before her expression sombered. "You never come without a companion, Elizalilac." My full name is apparently a well known fact. Goody. "Is something the matter?"

I shrugged. "Kinda sorta. World-saving adventure apparently about to start, and I..."

Okay, for those of you who didn't notice already, I've been missing an important part of my inventory.

If you guessed my old brush Sakura Lily, have a cookie.

"... I need to, um, check something in the River of the Heavens area on the way to the Cave of Nagi. Is that allowed, or..." I trailed off uncertainly. To my shock and eternal relief, Sakuya burst out laughing.

"Allowed? Of course you're allowed. You can go on."

The portal flickered into sight and I breathed out a sigh of relief-half from how glorious little time that had taken, half from _holy crap I can get my brush back without like kami rules or something._

Well, no time for thank you's when you're running like hell, am I right?

I didn't stop running until I'd reached the River of Stardust, the stars shining brightly enough on the river reflecting the sky to make it seem like daylight out. Even though, y'know, it was eternal nighttime in that place.

Glaring problem-I had to get to a certain spot on the river. Without my brush. No brush meant no Water Lily.

Plan B.

I ran over to a pot, hefted it over, and tossed it onto the river surface before leaping on myself. Right about the spot where Lily and I had met... well, technically, anyway. Sort of.

Shut up.

My reflection finally started moving, but instead of vocally addressing me, it took out a scroll and tossed it through the water before melting back into a normal mirror image. I took the scroll out of the water, opening it while trying to reassure myself. _It was different the first time, back then. Lily was more or less actually here. This time, her spirit might as well be too far away to make contact._

Still. Disappointing.

I opened the scroll, jumping back onto land. At least the handwriting was definitely hers.

_"All right, for starters, I'm sorry this is all I can do. It took too much energy as was to get this message to you. I'm so sorry, Li, but it was a letter or nothing. I promise we'll meet face-to-face again when it's all over, or sooner._

_"Anyway, if this reached you, I know you're bright enough to have tried to find your brush. You'll probably get it back soon, but for now all I can tell you is what a certain annoying asshole is telling me to write. Something about pointing you in the right direction that way. Whatever."_

Lily's handwriting stopped at that line and gave way to loopier scrawl that made me groan as soon as I put two and two together.

At least my grandmother had the sense to cross the line out.

_"Miss me? Of course you did."_

"Fat chance," I muttered, smacking my palm against my forehead.

_"Sorry, can't erase it. Jerk, anyway, there's something about following the path the trees lay out for you. I don't know. Li, I love you, but I have to end this off here before-"_

The line ended more abruptly this time and gave way to the loopy writing again, at the very bottom corner.

_"Beware your past."_

Oh, lovely. Riddles. I snapped the scroll shut and knelt back down, pressing a hand against the water. "Grandma," I whispered, "I love you too. I'll see you soon, I promise."

That was when the stars began to black out.

One by one, every constellation in the sky went dark. The stars were covered by an invisible cloud, and the air just suddenly went cold.

"Oh, shiiii-"

I didn't bother finishing, turning and hightailing it back out.

When the stars that symbolize the gods watching over the world begin to disappear... you KNOW something's about to go down.

Something very, very bad.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_The date is STILL 7/9/12 and I finished formatting chapter 3!_

_CAN I GET A SENOM'S DOING AWESOME ANYONE 8DDD_

_Lilac: ... someone please kill me now. I'm pretty sure she's high off something, I just can't tell what._

_A quick note: If no one can tell, Li's played Okami, but knows literally next to nothing about Okamiden._

_This is by the same logic that the 'new world' parts of ALBN take place between the 2030s and 2040s, and yet literally nothing in society has changed. [also, if anyone tries to ask Li what year she lives in, she'll spazz out and go into some sort of shock for about ten minutes. I'm still not sure what's wrong with her.]_

_ARTISTIC LIBERTIES ACTIVATE._

_So anyway, this time, she has even less advantage than before. For obvious reasons, actually. *cough Mary Sue cough* And we're bringing the bar down even further next chapter... but that's, well, next chapter._

_So next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **In Which is Rushed and Retarded**._

No, that's literally the title.

... yeaaah.

**Chibi: My turn to request a review!**

Lilac: ... watch, he'll get double the reviews for us than what happened when Issun tried.

Issun: HEY!

Chibi: So review! Pleaaase?

**[Author too busy headdesking to take part in her own author's notes]**


	4. In Which is Rushed and Retarded

_And thus we finally get to a chapter that needs the hell edited out of it._

_All right, let's do this._

Lilac: ... For those of you unaware by now, it's still 7/9 at the time of writing this. She's trying to see how much editing she can cram into one day. ... And then scrapping Chapter 5 and rewriting it. In short, I'm not getting any break time here.

Don't forget you're not getting paid!

Lilac: *same tone* Please don't remind me that I'm only doing all this because my soul is bound to you by contract! *sighs* Thanks to _**TheManWithBacon**__ (thanks for the help, Alex. Fourth wall is getting to that 'age' where it's harder and harder to fix) and __**Spirits and Shadows**__ for the reviews. (... You do realize that Senom's gone to every midnight showing of the Twilight movies thus far, right? I haven't seen her have a nervous breakdown watching them yet.)_

It's the fangirls I hate! *desperate attempt to redeem self* I ONLY GO FOR THE POPCORN AND THE THREE AM WAFFLE HOUSE. D8 And I almost fell asleep during the last one and was too terrified to go to sleep for a _week__ after... Bella... ... I'll shut up now._

... yeah I don't know what else to say. Let's just open up the chapter.

**Chibi: Can I do the disclaimer today?**

Lilac: Errr... Actually, that might not be such a-

**Chibi: Can I can I can I? 8D**

Lilac: ... fine. Sheesh.

Chibi: YAAAAAAY! Okay, Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or LoZ: Majora's Mask, and she only owns Li and Lily and Sayuri and-

**Senom: *claps hand over Chibi's mouth* AHAHAHAHAHAAAA he didn't say anything about the Chuck Norris of this volume. None of you heard anything, now open up the chapter already.**

**0-0-0-0-0**

Okay, recap for those retards outside the screen-yeah, it's _you_ I'm looking at, buster- who haven't been paying any attention.

Prelude arc: October first through third [enter year here] **[Scribbled note from author: When I asked Li, she started going into a spazz attack. ... we're not gonna find out the actual timeframe she lives in anytime soon.]**, consisted of one chapter. Talent show, basic introductory deal, girl talk, and birthday.

First plot arc so far: got back to Nippon, arguing, met infant sun god, more arguing, learned how to teleport with a clock, got a letter from Lily, and then all the stars went black.

And now, the continuation.

I finally hit the Torii gate over the portal, muttering a prayer under my breath and tripping back into the normal, logic-and-physics-defying land of Nippon.

"Because there's no such thing as an epic entrance." I muttered, pushing myself back up to my feet.

"-so she doesn't forge-hey, Li." Issun called.

"Hi, moron." I hid the scroll in the inventory (which we're going to call as such even though it's hammerspace or whatever it really is. Look, I just said logic and physics defying, that's just how it works around here. Get with the program of no logic or stop reading, already.) "What'd I miss?"

"Chibi's choosing the wrong alliances." He was probably rolling his eyes, and the contented sound that strongly resembled 'daaaaaaaaah' in my head was enough to reinforce that.

"... that's nice." I resisted the urge to facepalm and to congratulate Chibi. Oh, wait, actually... "Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Stuff went down. Speaking of-"

"I bet this is gonna be an adventure!" Issun cut me off.

"What the hell..."

"The plot's on crack, just go with it." The author muttered from offscreen.

"You mean you forgot the lines."

"Same difference."

I rolled my eyes. "All right, let's ignore the amazing mallet-tossing wonder and get back to work."

"You're not going." Sakuya told Issun while Chibi tackled me.

_Hi again!_

"Hi back," I giggled despite myself. (Oh, shut up.)

"Why not?"

"You'll lead him off a cliff, teach him to swear, probably start a forest fire..." I trailed off.

"That's what _you_ would do."

"Well, I was going to say that you have your Envoy duties to attend to, but Lilac does make a point." Sakuya noted.

"Holy crap she agreed with me."

"But Chibi can't go off saving the world by himself!" Issun argued. "I mean, look at him!"

Said wolf pup growled. You would think Issun would've realized by now that people calling Chibi different in any way, shape, or form-and I deny getting smacked with an ink-covered tail at this point in time-ticked him off. Now excuse me while I go get the ink off my skirt.

"I think there's a reason that my grandfather and I are around." I pointed out.

"Yeah, well, what have you been doing these past nine months?" He accused.

"I've been _doing_ my _job_!" I snapped.

"Yeah, SURE you have-"

_Guys, quit it!_ Chibi whined just as Sakuya snapped, "That's _enough_, you two!"

... well, it was either because we were acting like little kids or the sky had just turned a sickening shade of magenta.

And then whatever fate was watching was apparently pissed off enough to throw in an inconveniently placed lightning bolt and split Sakuya's tree.

"Crap." Issun and I chorused before glaring away from each other.

Yeah, we definitely had something to talk about later.

Oh, yeah, then the blue fire started up again.

This time, it actually burned. _Badly. _ I choked, doubling over and pressing my palms against the grass. The flames weren't just around me, they were _inside_ me. My blood cells were literally screaming.

I swear I didn't cry.

I didn't.

Not at all.

And after that came that flash about drowning. Again. Great. The heat was replaced with the chill of drowning, all the air flooding out of my lungs faster than I could think and blood coiling around me like wisps of smoke.

I wondered if I was really dying.

And this time, I felt like I really was crying-my tears just disappearing into the water around me, blurring the blood just slightly.

"_Aishiteru_..."

I didn't know why the word had escaped my lips, or why I blacked out.

Oh, well, that was probably dying.

_"How the hell do you DIE from a flashback? Just asking."_

My eyes flickered open and I saw her-Sayuri. I don't think the goggles were there before.

Oh holy crap I didn't know Sayuri's hair was pink.

"Um, normally it's not. These days, anyway." She laughed awkwardly, pulling the goggles up and pushing them over her forehead. "Good to see you again."

I paused. "What are you doing here? I thought you were gone after I left Nippon nine months ago..."

"I'm me, Lilac. I'm not just you and Lily combined." Sayuri winked and then hid her hands behind her back. "And you are going to be cursing someone or something out in about five minutes."  


_"Sayuri, stop dodging the subject." I groaned._

"Ha. No." She cut off, staring at something off in the distance and sighing. "Li, I've only got a few minutes here. In this... subconscious reality, I guess you could say. Do you remember when you sang with Lily that last time?"

My mind flashed back to singing Reset. "Yeah..."

"Gathering feelings. That's what it's about. That's what we're about." She started fading and sighed. "Li, promise me something. Don't break. Your family is-"

And then the words dribbled to a stop.

(Line Break says am I being used in the wrong places or something?)

The program was interrupted by Senom leaping up, squealing something indescribable, and proceeding to chase after Line Break.

Li just groaned and clicked the camera off. When it turned back on, the story continued.

**0-0-0-0-0**

You know, it's a REALLY rude awakening to be lying against a tree with a moron practically staring in your face. Even worse when it's almost exactly the same as the last time it happened. Cause my skull was about to crack, I swear.

"... Issun. Get out of my face." I muttered after trying to block out the imps from Hana valley apparently making a comeback. They'd brought their stupid Orochi Scout Cookies, too.

_You're okay!_ Chibi tackled me from the side. At this point, I was just guessing he either loved glomping people or didn't know any better.

"Well I won't be if you keep trying to kill me!" I choked out, half laughing and half trying to ignore my headache. "Okay. Think it's better now. ... sort of."

"You sure you're okay, Li?" Issun asked hesitantly. I glared at him.

"Try asking again and I'll throw you off that cliff over there."

"All right, so her attitude hasn't changed." He bounced on Chibi's head. "You blacked out for about ten minutes and Chibi couldn't wake you up. Sakuya already left for right now, I've been banned from the adventure, and you're supposed to go with him under the condition that you both get a third member to your party."

"Wait, what's wrong with me right now? And Oni?" I asked, trying to get up and then leaning back against the tree. "Oh sweet Amaterasu herself, pain."

"You really want me to tell you?" Issun asked dully.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

He cleared his throat awkwardly and Chibi glanced away. "... At some point while you were out, you sort of... changed."

I instantly started glaring at him again. "What do you mean, _changed_?"

_It feels like you were cursed._ Chibi noted softly, nuzzling my arm. _Your body was cursed, but not your mind or spirit._

"Will one of you please explain what you mean by changed slash cursed before I black out again from trying to move?" I asked irritably, the headache still not going away.

Apparently, Issun was more ready to get it out in the open before Chibi. "Okay, so... well... just look at yourself."

"Issun, my head is pounding like the Imps from Hana Valley are celebrating Orochi Scout Cookies all over again and right now my head's angled so I can't exactly see much below Chibi's forehead."

There was a noise like he was facepalming. Chibi took over at that point. _Li, your body looks like it aged. Backwards._

"Which means?" I asked him weakly, starting to lose my irritation to exhaustion.

_Your physical form makes you look like a kid. Eight years old, I think?_

I paled. "Issun, is he kidding?"

"... You're not going to let me get away with lying and saying he is, are you?"

"If I do, it's because I literally can't move without my nervous system protesting."

"Then, err, he is."

Chibi rolled his eyes. _That charm on your grandfather's stopwatch went away, too. Not the one that lets it move, but the one that deactivates it without his help. I think you can leave the village by yourself if you try._

I managed a small nod and tried to lift my hand toward my neck. I could just barely see the fabric on my sleeves with red spikes.

_... Red spikes, white all the rest of the way-oh no..._

I clasped the stopwatch and tried to grin at Chibi and Issun. "See you guys later?"

"Y-Li!" The Poncle stopped me. "We... we need to talk about something. Later, I mean, when you're not too hurt to move and all. Wait for me outside the village until I've found Chibi a partner, okay?"

I stared at him for a moment. "All right...?"

"... Now go on you adorable ticking time bomb."

"_Hey!_"

I turned the dial and left anyway, worry still wrapping itself around my mind.

Now partially because I felt like Issun was fixing to do what I had been planning on setting into motion myself.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_And thus concludes the fourth chapter of Closer to the Rising Sun, and I almost typed Prelude to the Rising Sun for a second!_

Lilac: ... idiot.

_So now we have eight year old Li running around on an adventure. Fun stuff, right? 8D_

Lilac: ... If any of you try to turn this against me as blackmail or something, I swear I'll personally find out where you sleep.

_... All threats made by the OC are empty._

... at least I hope so.

_Next chapter: **Breaking Up is Easy**! ... And if that doesn't tell you what's going on, nothing will. See you all next week!_

_And it literally __will_ _be next week this time. For real. Because Chapter 5's not finished yet._

_You freeloaders are damaging my self esteem. ._.''_

**Oni: So I didn't even get any screentime in this chapter...**

**Lilac: Your point?**

Oni: ... REVIEW 8D

Lilac: ... I suddenly can't wait until we have a legit partner that I can fight with for the review requests.

**Senom: Oh, you're saying that _now..._**


	5. Breaking Up is Easy

_... I am in no way, shape, or form amused._

At 2 AM this morning I was just being a cheerful little lonely derp, trying to pay homage to my favorite villain (sorry Akuro, but no one but Dimentio can pull off that good look in purple. Better luck next time. Also, I think you're creeping the seal fetus out, you Yami wannabe)...

_I finished EVERYTHING except for the dodge/burn and effects and whatnot..._

_... this was my first time ever drawing Dimentio period, hell, drawing a Mario villain period (Doopliss has not even gotten this honor. Boo hoo.) and it was coming out so well..._

_... Cue GIMP crashing._

And Senom has a bad habit of not saving her works in progress.

_... *flips a table*_

So now all I have to show for that HOUR I SPENT LOVINGLY ARTING FOR DIMMY ASDEFIQLKDF A;AEG;JL is a screenshot in which the pic is a quarter covered by my reference. (Which of course I was a derp and uploaded to dA so the universe could see how much love I put into that and how much was THROWN BACK AT MY FACE. Senom's grudges last a long time, folks.)

_Dimmy currently means NOTHING to me._

_(more offscreen sobbing and distinct yells of "I was so GOOD to you, you jester WHORE!")_

So here I am angsting and writing Closer instead, because when spiffy villains bring down Senom's morning, she turns back to her local antihero.

_Lilac: *facepalms*_

_And thus we begin the chapter that took Senom roughly two and a half months, if not three, to write!_

As the title of that one Rewind! chapter went, All Because of Uncreative Writing.

_... yeah, please don't remind me about that fanfic._

_In this considerably-longer-than-the-last-three chapter, we introduce not one, but two new characters (ahahaha not really), and Lilac finds a use for the Forever Alone face._

_Lilac: Shut up. Thanks to **Sakuragami** (Hey look, the first reviewer we've had so far that hasn't been around for a few weeks), **TheManWithBacon** (... Alex, you okay there, buddy?), and **Spirits and Shadows**. As per usual. Here, have these old... Ezlo plushies left over from ALBN? What the hell...?_

Senom: I've been cleaning that stuff out from the old stories. There are also a lot of mannequins running loose... wonder why...

**Issun: So far Li and Chibi _both_ got to do a review request _and_ disclaimer, and I only got to do one. ... and I've been in _all three _of the canon chapters! This is a conspiracy, I tell you!**

Lilac: Either shut up or do the disclaimer. 

**Issun: ... Senom299 owns nothing except her OCs. You know the deal by now.**

Senom: *still sobbing in background* I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING _SPECIAL!_

**0-0-0-0-0**

Don't you just love it when a family member claims they'll meet you at a certain time and stands you up?

Because I know I do!

It must've been about twenty minutes just lying out in Shinshu Field-cursed, of course-and trying to wait for my headache to go away before it finally started fading. I barely managed to press one hand against my forehead and mutter "and thank the gods for that". Either it was that my body was weak, I wasn't used to it, or more likely, a combination of both.

I couldn't help worrying, though.

Chibi had said it was like I had been cursed. But there was literally no one nearby that could have cursed me, right? Unless...

_Ticking time bomb._ That had to be it. I slid my hand off my forehead and not-really-slammed the other into it as a fist. The second time I'd had the 'flashback', like Sayuri called it...

... or maybe I had gotten it while I was talking to Sayuri.

Now that I thought about it, what did I actually know about Sayuri? She said we were helping each other, and Lily and I helped make her exist. That was all I really knew. Who said_ she _wasn't the one who cursed me?

_No, you're just paranoid,_ I thought. _Give Sayuri a break, Li. Maybe it was whatever demon struck Sakuya's tree, or something. After all, that was when you blacked out..._

_Are you _quite_ done monologuing?_ Another voice asked in my head. _Because manifesting takes time, patience, and probably some other assets I don't have, and neither do you._

_What the hell...? _That wasn't Chibi's voice. It was a younger girl's, but... that sickening kind of innocent you get from some girls at school who can get away with everything tone lingered on her voice. _Who the hell are you?_

Well, cut back on the swearing, Lilac_, for starters. _The voice in my head just laughed. _But if you really want to know..._

Suddenly, it felt like I was blacking out again, but this time like I was rushing downward. Falling. It stopped as quickly as it had started, and I was looking at what might have been a mirror of me.

... well, all right, not a mirror. In physical appearance, we could have been twins, if it weren't for that dark tone in her eyes. I was dressed in the same clothes as when Lily and I had 'became' Sayuri, and she was in a simple black dress-simple if you count that it was torn around the bottom and the edges kept floating up slightly.

_All right, that's creepy._

She crossed her arms and smirked. "Welcome to the realm I'll be calling home until you're dead, _Lilac._"

"I'd like to know the name of the creepy girl who suddenly appeared in my head, thanks." I snapped, trying to multitask and take in the surroundings at the same time. We were on what looked like a giant chessboard, in a concealed part of it with blood-red curtains draped on the perimeter of this area. She was sitting on what looked like a throne made of silver-silver with dark designs painted across it.

Painted in blood that was turning black as I continued to stare at it.

"For every life that the gears of fate deem unworthy of continuing their game," the girl seemed to ignore my question, or at least put it off, "there is a new game that begins for them. A battle that you, sadly, can't win. The pieces in this game have already been set. Call me the Black Queen, and you're the White King with absolutely nowhere to run... at least, not for long."

I looked at her dully, at least keeping my snarky attitude. "You're high off something if you seriously expect me to call you 'Black Queen' or anything relating to that."

She snorted. "Of course not. I'm your opponent in this game. If you really have to label me, the name I was given was Mimiru."

Mimiru honestly didn't look that impressed with me or either of our positions. She looked almost _bored_ with the entire situation.

The two of us just stood/sat there for a few minutes.

"Are you waiting for something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, actually." I admitted. "There's this plot mechanic where, y'know, Senom rolls out a scroll introducing most main characters and then some random minor characters when she feels like it..."

"So you're waiting for a completely logic and physics defying scroll from out of nowhere so I'm 'formally' introduced?"

"... Yes. Exactly."

A few more minutes passed.

"You do realize it's not going to come." Mimiru told me, looking even more uninterested than before.

As if the author had felt insulted by this challenge, a scroll was instantly rolled out across the screen, reading** Dark Manifestation Mimiru.**

She just gaped at it for a few minutes before smacking a palm against her forehead. "It's official. They've stuck me with the biggest nutcase possible for this game."

"Nah, this is normal."

Mimiru just glared at me. "You know what? If it gets me some _peace_, get out of here. And get one thing straight through your brain-we're not _friends._ I'm going to opt at all possible chances for your death, and this time if you die... you'll be erased from existence. Forever."

"This time?"

"Question booth closed, try again later!" She called after me as I felt myself fading away.

And then I woke up.

Déjà vu, how we love you, am I right?

All right, so it wasn't exactly the same, because this time Issun was actually leaning over me, the Lucky Mallet in one hand. "This is just gonna keep happening to you, isn't it?"

"Probably?" I tried, grinning weakly as he pulled me up to my feet. Surprisingly, I felt a lot better now physically. "How'd the partner search go?"

"You two are pretty much good to go. Chibi's going to be running off on a search for a mirror with Susano's kid, and you're joining up with them later."

I just stared at him. "... what?"

"You get to run around with another kid your age and make some friends." Issun told me, rolling his eyes and putting the mallet away. "Like I said, that's later. We need to-"

"-talk, right." I shook my head. "All right, let's get this over with."

It felt really awkward talking to Issun when I was shorter than him. And younger, in some respect.

... I was _way _too used to arguing with him.

"So nine months ago, when we... y'know... said we were together?" He asked awkwardly. "About that."

"I know. It didn't work, it doesn't, and it probably won't ever work." I crossed my arms, trailing behind him as we walked in the general direction of Hana Valley. "In short, you're breaking up with me. Why don't we just get some sake to seal the deal?"

Issun stared at me. "How'd you know?"

I bit my lip. "I'd been planning to break up with _you._"

There was a brief silence and we both burst out laughing.

"So now who's the big one here?" He asked. I swatted him on the arm.

"It's not you."

"Ohhh yes it is."

"No, it's n-"

"_Yes it is_!"

"_Fine_, it's you! Are you happy? You finally beat me in an argument." I looked at him, half exasperated and half trying not to suffocate from giggling.

"Very." He grinned at me, and I realized that he'd managed to change. To mature a little bit.

I was the one who hadn't. So in a way, he really was the one with the upper hand this time.

"How about we set the bar back at friends?" Issun asked me, breaking out of my thoughts.

"... sure?" I shrugged. "I don't know if you'll put up with me for long enough."

He snorted. "Sakuya said I'm not going with you guys, remember? I think I can put up with you if we just cross paths a few times."

"... yeah, friends works." I agreed. We passed up a Demon Scroll with surprisingly little conflict.

(By that I mean the following ensued:

"RUN AWAYYYYYYYY!")

There was another silence.

Aaaaaand we were walking.

"Hey, Li?" Issun spoke up again. "Someone got the bright idea of blocking off Hana Valley with this heavy gate..."

"... so we're not going anywhere."

"Oh, we are." He promised, grinning mischievously and taking out the Lucky Mallet again. "I would've done this earlier, but that would've meant a lot more walking... so..."

"-_Issun don't you DARE-_"

He already had a hold on my shoulder and was busy shaking the mallet with the other hand, still grinning the whole time. I just groaned, resisting the urge to facepalm as he continued shaking the mallet until we were both at his normal size.

"I hate you. So much."

"Well, if you wanted to wait on the other two, sorry." He made a face and dragged me between the bars of the gates blocking off Hana Valley. "And off to break some rules we go!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

About an hour later of traversing the area and Issun stopping _every five freaking minutes _to either point something out to me, monologue on what I'd missed out on, and work on some random signs that were apparently supposed to be useful later.

"Just don't tell Sakuya about these, okay?" He asked me as he finished another one and stuck it in the ground. "Just in case this is against the rules."

"Didn't you say we were coming in here specifically to break some rules?" I asked Issun dully.

"You know what I mean."

"Suuuure."

He just shrugged and stood up. "I think I'm going to drop you off in here."

"... You sure?"

"Just sit on the Origin Mirror. You'll be fine."

"Issu-"

"Li." He looked me in the eye. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, okay?"

I was about to say something along the lines of _that's your job_, but stopped myself and grinned innocently. "But troublemaking's our specialty, right?"

He just kept glaring at me. Crap, he really _had _matured.

"... Fine, I won't do anything _too_ stupid." I sighed, resigned. He ruffled my hair and my eyes snapped up to glare at him with the same dark look he'd given me a minute ago.

"Never do that again."

"Sure." Issun just grinned at me and shook the Lucky Mallet again. "See you around, Li!"

I just watched him leave, sitting back against the Origin Mirror. In the back of my mind, Mimiru just snickered.

_Oh, this is going to be a fun game._

I just glared up at the sky. _Shut up, Mimiru. Just... shut up._

To my surprise, she actually did. I sighed and continued to stare skyward. That shade of magenta was seriously starting to get irritating. I'd make sure to associate magenta with demons from now o-

_Demons._

... Did I seriously expect to fight demons without any _weapon?_

I scrambled to my feet and felt around my belt, trying to see if I had _anything _I could use. I shouldn't have worried. Oh no, never fear, I had a small rod of wood that was roughly four inches long on my side!

The second I took it out of its loop, it doubled in size a few times and became a spearblade that looked a lot like Sayuri's, only a darker shade of blue and with violet designs, not red.

My bad.

I just collapsed back onto the mirror, turning and staring into it as if trying to remember how it worked.

_Don't bother. _Mimiru told me.

_Wait... what?_

I already told you, didn't I? This board is one with no strings attached. An Origin Mirror is more complicated than 'look into this and have something to fall back on'. By the way, according to these memory records I'm staring at right now, you never used any. Which is actually pretty surprising. But like I said, you only have one chance throughout the entirety of this game, so Origin Mirrors won't work for you.

I paused for a minute.

"Damn."

_Didn't I warn you to cut back on that?_

Old habits die hard.

You look like you're eight, Lilac.

Didn't you say we were supposed to be bitter enemies on this board? I asked irritably, trying-and failing-to ignore her to some extent. I imagined Mimiru shrugging.

_That's not an act of friendship. It's an act of 'get you to stop swearing for five seconds'._

_Fat chance._

... sure it is.

I finally managed to ignore the girl to some degree, and right on time too, because cue Chibi entering in his usual fashion.

Glomping people makes the world go round. I'll bet you all the yen accumulated by the end of this adventure that's his philosophy.

-actually no, I take that back. Pretend I never said anything on the subject, kay?

_There you are!_

"Don't tell me you actually missed me..." I just grinned and shook my head, running a hand through the wolf pup's fur. "How've you been holding up?"

_Great! I made a new fr-where'd he go._ Chibi whirled around and took a few steps, glancing around before telepathically groaning. _Did he run off again_?

"You lost your new partner...?" I raised an eyebrow.

_I didn't _lose _him,_ he huffed irritably, _he just keeps... backtracking and showing back up after yelling at me for 'leaving him behind'._

"Backtracking?"

_I don't know either._

As if on cue (again), the sound of faint yelling from the next room rang out. I glanced at Chibi, who just nodded in exasperation.

_Wait for it..._

"... told you twenty times now not to leave me behind, don't you get it I can't fend off these demons all by myself, Mutt!"

I found myself facepalming while there was literally a _storm cloud forming over Chibi's head._

"... is that a god thing?" I whispered to him.

_I guess so. _He still sounded miffed, attention now mostly focused on the boy that had dashed in through the connecting hall-cave-tunnel-whatchamacallit-Senom-is-so-creative-LET'S CALL IT A DOOR OKAY-door.

He practically froze in his tracks, fixing a glare on me. "Who're you?"

I just returned the gaze. "I'd like to ask the same question."

And as if two kids glaring at each other (as soon as I find the song Two People Gazing at Each Other on this OST, the author is so totally translating the title to 'Two Kids Glaring at Each Other") was the most epic cliffhanger in the world, the curtains fell on this chapter.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_I REGRET NOTHING._

So when I said 'considerably' longer earlier, I meant... uh... 'slightly'. Yes, I'm terrible. Deal with it.

I badly need to get some writing done this weekend, so while I'm not drawing with my newfound mad anatomy skillz-*shot*-I'll be working on Closer. I want to say I'll have Chapter 6 up on Wednesday, but I can't necessarily be sure.

_Fun fact: I do NOT UNDERSTAND for the life of me why Kuni's introduction has been practically impaling me to stop me from writing it. It just... does. It had a lance, I had no way of protecting myself!_

_... But writer's block apparently cannot stop an insanely angry artist in her tracks, so I lasered that lance right down. Muahaha. Like a dapper boss._

Hey look, alliteration.

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun, Chapter 6: **All in Good Fun**!_

**Kuni: So review!**

Lilac: *starts sputtering again* H-hey, wait a second, this isn't _fair!_

Chibi: Wait, why not?

Lilac: HE HASN'T BEEN FORMALLY INTRODUCED IN THE PLOTLINE YET. *spazzes on floor*

Senom: So by that logic I should call in Kurow and ask him to do the next one because technically he was introduced two volumes ago via flashback?

Lilac: AGHHH. *just continues to flail around on the floor uselessly*

Senom: Tsundere antihero used splash! It wasn't very effective... see you all next week! Technically! Sort of! I think!


	6. All in Good Fun

_And thus the story continues, and Senom lies. This chapter took a lot less time than I expected to write._

_You all know what that means..._

_WRITING HIGH! 8DDDDD_

_In this chapter, we fully introduce the first legit partner-_

Lilac, Issun: HEY!

-and go through the first dungeon, and confront the first boss, and I'm going to shut up now because I'm about to get murdered by two Celestial Envoys. *hides*

_Thanks to __**Sakuragami **__for the review! ... slightly unrelated as it may have been! XD_

**Mimiru: Why am I doing this, again?**

Lilac: We're not letting Kuni do it. Just do the disclaimer, already.

**Mimiru: *heaves a dramatic sigh* Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den. Or anything else that isn't her OCs, for that matter. Shouldn't you know this by now?**

**0-0-0-0-0**

If you guys would let me say something that I _very badly _want to address, then I'd really appreciate it.

A word to-hell, everyone out there.

Do not randomly assume that purple is a manly color on just _anyone._

That level can only be achieved by one person. That is Cloud Strife. On any other male, chances are it'll look ridiculous. And no, the cosplayers don't count, and also _no_, I am not addressing the 'in-Nippon-real-men-wear-pink' situation for at least another plot arc.

Partially because, thank Amaterasu herself, that's only the situation in southern Nippon.

With that in mind, let's continue the story, shall we?

The boy and I continued to glare at each other for a few moments before he finally crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, if you _have_ to know-"

_No, we don't,_ Chibi added in irritably. He was ignored.

"-_I_ am Kuni, son of Susano, the greatest warrior to ever live!"

Aaand that rung a few tiny silver bells in the back of my head.

"Charmed." I told him sarcastically. "The name's Lilac. I'm supposed to be Chibi's _other_ partner."

Kuni just stared at me blankly, his facade shriveling slightly. "What kind of name is that?"

"Why you-" I felt my blood start to boil and suddenly noticed how Issun must've usually felt. "A perfectly fine one, _Country!_"

"_Country_?"

"What? That's what it means, right?" I asked, smirking visibly. Chibi just shook his head irritably.

_Why am I in the middle of this..._

"You don't have a right to make fun of that kind of thing!"

"Then take back what you said about my name and I'll take back what I said about yours."

Kuni looked visibly irked, setting off the victorious joy in the back of my head. "What's a girl like you doing down in the middle of a place like this, anyway?"

I just raised an eyebrow and took out my spearblade (which badly needed to be named, by the way), letting it grow to its full size. "I can handle myself, thanks." __

Liar. You and Issun were running away from Demon Scrolls at every turn. Mimiru accused.

_Oh, shut up._

"But you're a _girl._" Kuni tried again. This time when I glared at him, Chibi was visibly sweatdropping. (And 'visibly' is now the official word of this chapter, apparently.)

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Girls can't fight demon-"

All right, you can't blame me for spinning my spearblade around and thwacking him upside the head with the handle.

"What was that for?" He sputtered, stumbling back.

"Let's get this straight right now," I leaned over and continued glaring at him. "Insult my gender one more time and the next time we cross the path of a Demon Scroll, I'll shove you right at it _by yourself_ and see how long it takes for you to come out. We clear?"

Kuni stared up at me for a moment before nodding. "Crystal."

I glanced back at Chibi, who was giving me a weird look that I couldn't make out. I just sighed and extended a hand, pulling our new partner back to his feet. "Sorry. I've... got anger management issues. Just... call me Li and I won't call you Country."

"Got it." He nodded, still looking a bit shaken.

"So why're you two down here, anyway?" I asked, trying to force myself into a more pleasant state. _I have GOT to work on that. Mimiru's right._

What'd I tell you? She interrupted me smugly.

_... please don't do that again._

"Err... running an errand." Kuni glanced away and I raised an eyebrow, turning to Chibi.

_He promised a girl he'd get her mirror back from some demons in here._ The young god sighed. Kuni whirled around.

"Don't _tell _her that, Mutt!"

"You can understand him?" I asked, glancing up.

"Well... er... yeah..." The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "You can too?"

I just shrugged. _No one could understand him before... Guess there's still some stuff about this whole situation that the both of us need to figure out._

Out loud: "Guess that makes things easier in the long run."

And thus we started walking for roughly two seconds. Dramatic indeed. Chibi just flicked his tail and a few water lilies appeared on the water. I found myself slightly jealous.

"You got Bloom already?"

_Yup!_ He replied cheerily, just continuing forward. Kuni just gave me a weird look before we both followed.

"What're _you_ doing down here?" He asked me while Chibi started busying himself with dispatching the white frogs hopping around like nobody's business. "And how'd you get through the gate?"

"I was with Issun for a while." I just shrugged and moved to lend a hand, slashing one with my spearblade. Obviously not wanting to miss out on the fun, Kuni took out the last one with his _wooden sword how the hell was that possible never mind I don't even want to know._

"The Celestial Envoy? Oh, you're-" He paused, a look of recognition flooding his expression. I raised an eyebrow.

"He's been talking about me?" Typical Issun, but still...

"Yeah, he'd always tell stories about the other person that ran around with the goddess Amaterasu and him." Kuni looked like he almost respected me all of a sudden. "I didn't think you'd be this young, though."

"It's... complicated." I admitted, glancing away and biting my lip. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Thankfully, Chibi _didn't_ do what I expected him to do (turn around and go 'She's cursed'), and instead just turned around and glanced at us expectantly. _Are you guys even listening to me?_

"What?" We chorused. The wolf pup just shook his head.

_I said there's a switch right here. Someone needs to step on it. I think it'll drain the water out of the room. _He explained. Kuni and I glanced at each other. Before I could say anything, Country Boy raised his hand.

"Not it!"

I just glared, moved onto the switch, and sat down. The water began to rush out of the room. "There. Do what you have to do."

I just watched the two of them head back the way we'd come and then tried to get a good view from my position. "See anything useful?"

"Another switch." Kuni called over. "We've got it."

Five seconds later, the nearby door opened. Nothing too dramatic, just a rock moving. When the two finally came back over, I stood up again.

"Can we go now?"

_You're in a hurry._ Chibi noted. _Are you always this impatient?_

"Yeah, actually."

And in the next room came our favorite mechanic of any adventure: Ball pushing physics!

One room filled with dialogue that if I repeat here, this fanfic will sound like even more of an OACA ripoff later, we were back in the... other room.

"Aren't we creative toda-"

And thus the narrator was smothered by a pillow again.

"I'm. Calling. The. Shots." The author hissed irritably, going back to her notebook with a huff.

Back in Nippon:

"So who wants to push this sphere over to that socket in the ground?" I asked, raising my hand instantly after saying that and grinning at Kuni. "_Not it._"

"This isn't fair." He muttered, starting to roll the ball up the hill while Chibi and I watched.

_Think we should help him?_

"I had to sit on the switch. You had to make those bridges out of the trees. I think he needs to pull his weight around here."

"I heard that!" He yelled from across the room. Thankfully, that was around the point in time that the sphere decided it liked its spot and started... bouncing up and down on a spout of water.

Well it was good for something, because that apparently drained out all of the poisonous-looking water in the chamber. What do you know.

"Is that supposed to be a Guardian Sapling?" Kuni asked, starting to run down the hill to get a better look. I rolled my eyes and jumped down from the cliff Chibi and I were on, him close behind.

"What else would it be? An overgrown weed?" I asked sarcastically, kneeling down.

To be noted: Lilac's memory has apparently failed her up to this point. Terribly.

But at least I got _something_ right for once.

"Hey, you guys." I interrupted just as Chibi was about to bloom the undergrown Sapling. "Plants need sunlight to grow, right? Why don't we try that first?"

Kuni shrugged. "Guess so."

And thus we tried that idea. And it worked.

Woo.

The Sapling grew until it became a gnarled old tree that you usually only see as a Halloween decoration or in graveyards.

Kuni and Chibi just turned to stare at me and I shrugged.

"What? I was... half right?"

Kuni just rolled his eyes. "I think I heard Dad say once that these trees are like copies of Sakuya. Why don't we put some flowers on it for her?"

Chibi nodded and used Bloom... annnnd nothing happened.

_Dammit! Great Divine Intervention in action was my favorite part about this sort of thing!_ I lamented silently. Mimiru was not impressed.

"Guess there's still some evil lurking about. Let's come back when we expel those evil spirits!" Kuni noted.

"You're cheerful about it." I muttered.

As if on cue, a pile of rubble collapsed behind us to reveal a hole in the ground. With a demon barrier over it.

_Those evil spirits might be closer than we thought._ Chibi glanced back at both of us. _Ready?_

"Let's do this." I got out my spearblade and it was practically a race to the barrier.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"Wait, what was that?" Kuni asked, bewildered as the fight started.

I smacked my forehead. "The plot's on crack, just go with it!"

"What plot? What crack?"

_Kuni, listen to her for once._

"Mutt, why're you siding with _her_?"

"_Excuse_ me?"

We split up, Chibi and Kuni taking the two Green Imps and yours truly getting stuck with... a clam.

"Well this is... new." I admitted, staring at the clam awkwardly as it started hopping toward me. I flipped my spearblade around and whacked the demon with the flat of it. "Hey, don't take it out on me! It's our _job_ to get rid of you demons, okay?"

The clam was obviously not amused by this, and ended up snapping at my arm. I bit my lip and hit him with my free hand, shaking him off. "Will you _let me kill you_?"

_Let me show you how it's done_. Chibi appeared out of nowhere, his Imp apparently disposed of, and started combo-ing the clam. He then used Bloom and stepped back. _You can finish it off._

"I didn't need your help." I muttered under my breath, proceeding to slash at the clam's core. After a few more moments of this process and Kuni running around the arena flailing his arms because apparently the Imp had stolen his sword, the barrier finally went down.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

"... No, seriously, what was tha-"

"Just stop questioning it, mmkay?"

"But-"

"Kay."

We paused in front of the hole. "Who wants to go down first?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kuni shook his head. "It's already been decided."

"Wait, what?" I started.

And then Chibi tackled me from behind.

"_CHIBI YOU TRAITOR I SWEAR I'M WASTING ALL OF OUR MONEY FROM NOW ON FOR EXORCISM SLIPS AND YOU CAN'T STOP MEEEEEEEEE!_"

My ranting was interrupted by the jovial greeting from the ground to my face.

"I hate you two." I muttered, mouth now half full of dirt and bones full of pain. Five seconds later, I had to roll out of the way so Kuni wouldn't fall on me.

He wasn't as lucky.

After Chibi had gotten off of him, he started stalking around. _Something's not right in here._

"The entirety of Hana Valley is cursed and this is the one place where you have to say 'something's not right'?" I asked irritably, still trying to push myself up and cough the dirt out of my mouth. Kuni was still trying to get up himself.

_Li. Look in the water._

I finally got up, dragged Kuni to his feet, and joined our other companion.

"What the he-ck...?"

_Thank you._ Mimiru sounded pleased.

_Screw off._

There were a few spikes sticking out of the water, bubbles and ripples covering the surface when we tried to get a better look. Suddenly, Chibi barked out a warning.

_Both of you move back! Now!_

We didn't hesitate to do so after the giant frog emerged from below, anyway.

The sin against nature planted two of its webbed feet (?) on the now-muddy grass, staring at us through its one eye with mild interest. "And what brings you three little animals in here?" Enter croaking noise here. "You're not here to make a joke about _defeating _me, are you?"

"W-who... what is this thing?" Kuni asked. I glanced over, noticing that he was visibly shaking, and resisted the urge to facepalm. _Yes, we get it. It's big and scary. Man up, okay?_

"Only a blood heir of Nagi could even hope to challenge me." The demon croaked again. Our partner seemed to perk up slightly at that.

"I... I'm the son of S-Susano..."

_We know, already._ Chibi groaned telepathically. I could only imagine his longing to be able to either smash his head against the ground or at least facepaw without breaking something.

"The son of Susano, eh?" The _thing_ made a noise like it was trying to laugh whilst being strangled before I realized he slash it slash whatever was croaking at the same time. "If you speak the truth, then I will play with you!"

"_Play_ with us?" I raised an eyebrow, bringing out my spearblade. Kuni just backed away to the side.

"Errr..."

"What's the matter, little one?" Master Anura (because we are going to refer to him by name now. Huzzah for plot holes) croaked out. "Come on, kill me! I'm right here!"

Kuni just continued to stammer, sweat flooding down his face like a waterfall. "Well... I-"

"I guess all of Nagi's descendents are just cowards!" Anura croaked again.

_I hate to play the traitor, but I'd love to agree with you. _I thought. _-please don't let Chibi have heard that._

_Heard what?_

_NOTHING._

"Either that... or you're a liar! Now, begone! I have not the time!" The demon declared. I just tightened my grip on my spearblade.

"Don't. You. Dare-"

Cue Kuni running off to the other side of the room.

If there was ever a time that I wanted to just turn around and bang my head against a wall until I went into a coma, it was now.

"I-I'm not Susano's real son..." I heard him muttering under his breath. "I'm not Nagi's descendent..."

That desire to bang my head against that wall?

Amplified.

I just glanced at Chibi. "Take this frog balloon on by ourselves?"

_You know it._

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Pirate/Pop Star/LeBlanc?/Froggy/Master Anura/That One Boss that None of the Other Villains Really Like.**

And hence began a battle of epic proportions, until we remembered that Senom can't write fight scenes and just decided to wing it.

_You take him from the right, I'll take him from the left!_ Chibi instructed, dashing to the left. I nodded and ran to the other side, spinning my spearblade in an epic fashion.

"You know, I still need a name for this thing." I noted dryly, stabbing at Anura with it. Obviously, this didn't impress him, because I narrowly avoided being crushed later.

And then Chibi to the rescue, smacking him on the other side with Divine Retribution.

After repeating this cycle for a few moments, the demon retreated into the water. Chibi stopped to catch his breath and glanced at me.

_Just think of something you like for it. It's your weapon and all. Gimme a minute._ He turned his attention to Anura, using Power Slash on the frog-thing's stomach. Said frog-thing fell back into the water, sputtering like a lunatic. When he did come back up, he turned around to hack something out of his throat. Chibi continued as if nothing had happened. _Like I said, it's your weapon. Just don't name it something you'll regret, or anything._

"Not bad... Not bad at all!" The demon _praised us_ (what the hell?). "You made me throw up the fruit that I ripped from the Guardian Sapling's roots!"

"He did _what?_" I asked, more than mildly disturbed.

And then suddenly Kuni dashing across the other side of the room.

"Guys!" He called, getting the attention of not just Chibi and I, but also our adversary. "Oh man, I'm so sorry!"

"You better be!" I called back.

Chibi then proceeded to smack me with his tail again. Greaaat, more time spent wiping ink off of me.

"I shouldn't have left you like that." Kuni continued, pretending I hadn't said anything. "I wanted everyone to think that Susano was my dad, so I... I imitated the way he talks and acts. And then I realized, it doesn't matter who my father is!"

I got the serious urge to applaud him, halfway for realizing that he was not, in fact, fated to be a replica of a walking, talking jug of sake (description credit going to my summer camp roommate), and halfway because character development coming into play.

... What?

"I'm gonna fight by your side, Mutt!" He called.

"What about me?"

"... You too, Li!"

"_Thank _you."

"It's my actions that show I'm Susano's son!" Kuni then pumped his fist in the air and I started to lose that urge to applaud him.

I did, on the other hand, give him a thumbs-up while Chibi barked enthusiatically. Anura just glared over at the boy while he struggled to pick up the fruit. It started sparking with dark power on contact.

"You? You can't even hope to hurt me!" The demon croaked disdainfully.

Kuni obviously did not agree.

"Yes... yes I can!" He yelled defiantly, the dark power dissipating. "I'm the son of Susano, the greatest warrior ever!"

"... Okay, okay, we get it." I muttered under my breath.

Anura just croaked in shock. _Please have a heart attack while you're at it. That would make this so much easier on us._

"Mutt!" Our companion called. "I don't know what to do with this ball! Guide me!"

While Chibi occupied himself with that, I narrowed my eyes and started attacking Anura's back. "And don't you even _think_ about hitting that kid while he's working on killing you!" I snapped.

"And you're going to stop me, Children of Sun and Storm?" The demon asked, seeming amused. I froze.

"What...?"

_Li, keep going! He's just distracting you!_ Chibi yelled, turning his attention back to Anura and attacking him. I shook my head and joined him. Thankfully, that was all the time it took for Kuni to drop the fruit where it needed to go. The power parted from Anura and flooded back to its source, the demon frog seeming put out by this.

And then he just turned back around to fix his one eye on both of us, smirking in triumph.

"You know, I can live without a fruit or two! This fight isn't over yet."

"Far from it." I muttered, spinning my spearblade twice and holding it behind me in what I dearly prayed was an epic pose.

"Now, my children... come to me!"

"_Children?_" Chibi and I chorused in disbelief as Anura started singing... in croaks... and the frogs that inhabited the dungeon started to appear around us. My eye twitched and I backed up closer to my partner.

"Someone's gotta focus on Anura and someone has to fend off the smaller ones." I muttered. "Want me to take the army?"

_Sounds like a plan._ Chibi just started hitting Anura again while I dashed around the frogs, slashing at them like a madwoman.

"For the record, you're a _terrible _singer!" I called to the boss.

He wasn't amused.

"Don't mock me, little girl!" Anura snapped just as he descended back into the water.

Cue blooming a clam.

Cue powerslashing.

Cue our new enemy hacking up another fruit.

Cue wash, rinse, repeat.

On the last cycle, I switched places with Chibi and started attacking Anura myself. He still was apparently irked from my comment on his singing.

"You would know all about that sort of thing, wouldn't you?" The demon croaked, narrowly missing crushing me under his chin (which would've been horrific, by the way.). "Why don't you show us how it's done, then?"

"Fat chance!" I snapped, slashing him clean across the face. Anura started sputtering again, and the bloom-powerslash-hack up fruit-Kuni carrying fruit cycle ensued again.

Finally, it looked like he was about to _die_.

About time.

"Impossible..." Anura croaked. "My power! I can't..."

He then proceeded to expel some purple gas into the air, which was sucked up by...

... by...

... errr...

"Does anyone have any clue of what the heck that is?" I asked after a moment.

_Beats me._ Chibi commented.

"It looked like a... mouth. With an eyeball."

Apparently the mouth with an eyeball wasn't in the mood for idle chatter, because it just left.

And suddenly Kuni on our side of the room.

A mirror started flying through the air and Kuni managed to catch it, just barely.

"That's what you were looking for?" I asked, crossing my arms and grinning.

He then proceeded to ignore me in a celebration that involved him and Chibi hugging.

"... are you two done being creepy yet."

Obviously not, because then Kuni started kissing Chibi on the nose.

"Thanks, Mutt! I couldn't have done it without you!"

I smacked him over the head with the handle of my spearblade again. "Seriously."

"... Thanks, Li."

"Welcome."

Ignoring us, Chibi got back up and did a traditional victory howl. There was much rejoicing, and-

Wait a second, the area wasn't even over yet!

**Ten minutes later:**

"All right, let's give blooming the Guardian Sapling another try!" Kuni announced cheerfully.

_Why are you suddenly on my back again._

"You know what to do, Mutt!"

I didn't even bother to facepalm, instead trying to keep my spirits a little high. First dungeon? Checked off the list. We were _done_ here, just about.

And we were about to see one of my favorite parts about restoring Nippon the last time.

For once, you could say that Elizalilac Alexis was actually in a pretty good mood.

... Then of course cue Senom being too horrific of an author to be able to write out Great Divine Intervention so USE YOUR IMAGINATION.

At least listen to the _song._

And then, when the land came back to life... I realized something stirring inside me.

A feeling of loyalty.

And... pride.

Also, Mimiru being a smart aleck, but I chose to ignore that and you all should too.

_Are you proud, Lily?_ I asked silently, casting my eyes up to the sky before thinking twice about it. _No... are you safe?_

**0-0-0-0-0**

_THAT IS TOTALLY A CLIFFHANGER._

_Well, we're actually going to find out in the next chapter, thanks to some handy-dandy mechanics I'm introducing by the name of 'Group B scenes'!_

_They're not all actually scenes, just the one in the next chapter. And honestly, after that, it's just dialogue so you can all just smile, nod, and say 'Sure, we know what's going on!'._

_Ahem._

_One dungeon down, several to go!_

Also.

_LILAC IS HAPPY. HOLY CRAP. THE UNIVERSE IS IN PERIL, CALL 9-1-1!_

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: Chapter 7: **Point A to Point B**!_

**Master Anura: Review. *croak***

Lilac: ... Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me. WHY does he get his own review request?

Senom: Well, uh, actually, all the villains do after they're defeated.

Lilac: WHY?

Senom: ... because it's Love the Villains day?

Lilac: That _thing_ deserves no love!

Anura: *Forever Alone face*


	7. Point A to Point B

_Welcome to Chapter 7 of Closer, in which we take a break from the storyline briefly for a Paper Mario style interlude!_

_... I am such a moron._

_After this chapter it'll get a little bit more spaced out as we get into the main story and Senom is forced to take more than one day to type this crap up._

_Thanks to __**Spirits and Shadows**__ and __**TheManWithBacon**_ for the reviews!

... _Gee, I sure would like to see some new reviewing faces around here- *hit in the back of head with a brick*_

**Lily: I'm doing the disclaimer. Finally.**

Lilac: *mouth duct taped shut*

Senom: COUGH no contact with your plot device of a grandmother COUGH.

Lily: ... *rolls eyes* Senom299 owns nothing except her OCs.

**0-0-0-0-0**

Restored Hana Valley was every bit as epic as it had been the first time I'd seen it.

"Come on, you two, speed it up!" I called back to Kuni and Chibi, dashing down a hill. "Or are you going to get beaten by a _girl_?"

"Get back here!" Kuni yelled, shaking a fist at me. I just laughed and kept running.

Okay, so Chibi wasn't technically part of the race. He was busy blooming every tree in sight, but he was doing it as fast as he could. He deserved that much credit.

"You'll never catch me ali-"

Cue tripping over a bridge. Not falling off it, but still tripping.

"_Never catch you alive_?" Kuni grinned, catching up. I rolled over and glared up at him.

"Oh, shut up. It was the bridge's fault."

"Sure it was."

Chibi finally made it to us, looking out of breath himself. _Every single tree in the valley that I know of bloomed. I deserve a reward._

"I'll buy you your own Holy Bone stash later." I promised him. His eyes lit up.

_Really?_

"I could do that." Kuni muttered before his eyes widened. "Guys, we've got to hurry! Dad's still holding the gate open for us!"

... Oh, right. that.

"You know what that means?" I asked, turning to Chibi and smirking. Chibi just tossed Kuni on his back while I took off running.

"You'll never catch me alive~!"

"You already said that."

_Do you really think she cares?_

A few minutes later, as a matter of fact, they _did_ catch me alive. Again.

Just goes to show how badly I suck at this kind of thing.

And that _adventures are bad, kids._ Or at least, they're bad for Lilac.

**0-0-0-0-0**

It never changed, now.

Sometimes, welcome hallucinations would chase away the fires, the screams, the dead earth and smoke-blocked sky. Nightmares were blocked by wishful dreams.

She hadn't dreamed for hours.

She scaled the cave wall outside, blowing wisps of silvery-white hair away from lavender eyes. Rocks crumbled and slid to the dead earth beneath her bare feet, sometimes nicking flesh. She didn't care. There had been worse.

She pulled herself on top of the precipice, sitting down with her legs crossing and breathing hollowly. The smoke burned her lungs, leaving her throat drier than when she had been down in that bloody cave.

She didn't know what else to do. It had been ages since she'd used her voice for that purpose, to sit by herself and pray that her feelings might reach this time.

She sang, this time.

_"I can see what tomorrow brings,_

_And my wish to become a star._

_To my loved one I must say,_

_will you please wait for me?"_

She coughed, voice and tolerance for the dying air spent. Below, distantly, an inferno went on like a barricade. They were being locked in, she realized bitterly, pushing herself back up and starting the climb back down.

"We're running out of options," she muttered, voice cracked and hoarse at this point. Even more so than usual. "And time."

Lily Alexis was a woman with little fear. But as she grabbed her hammer, resting on the cave wall and already gathering dust from a few days without use, she knew she was afraid.

That cave was all that they had at this point. Their last defense, temporary home, and-

Lily scowled, resting her hammer on her shoulder.

-their prison.

The entrance was far behind her now, the blaze outside no longer lighting her path. A torch leaning against the wall was dying, but still barely lit. She took it, muttering a prayer and bringing it up to the rock. An arrow had been scratched into it-someone wanted her to follow.

"Guess we need to go further in sometime." She sighed, holding up the torch and following the sound of water dripping from the ceiling.

Her steps came to an abrupt halt when the fire went out with a soft hiss, leaving Lily in complete shadows. The woman's eyes narrowed, not picking up the silhouette but definitely knowing the prank like the back of her hand. "Quit it." She laid the torch down on the floor. "I know that's you. It wasn't funny the first time and it definitely isn't funny the sixth."

"Enjoy the fresh air, Lilian?" The voice bounced off the walls.

"Lily." She corrected automatically, exasperated. "And it's _great_ out there. You should try going and sitting out there on top of the cave sometime. It's great for your circulatory system." Lily raised her hammer and swung it, missing completely but making her point. "Have a heart attack, crossdresser."

The 'room' was flooded with pale green light and the man in front of her laughed.

"Ever the hostile woman, Lilian."

"It's _Lily_, dammit." She groaned. "And call me hostile again, _cow poem_, see what happens."

His laughter died abruptly, much to Lily's satisfaction. "We agreed not to bring that up."

"Yeah, well, I'm mentioning it anyway." Lily smirked.

"Are you challenging me?" The man asked, raised an eyebrow.

Lily narrowed her own and raised her hammer. "Bring it."

He laughed softly, twisting his wrist so the lightsaber I mean sword thing was tilted in a battle stance instead of to provide light. "I suppose we have time to spare. Show me what you've still got in you, flower girl."

"Oh, _gladly_!" Lily swung her hammer again, this time only barely missing. "I don't need a spearblade to kick your ass, Waka!"

"Then should I hold back because you are?" He asked, jumping back.

"Oh, shut up, I don't do blunt weapons." Lily muttered.

She was then promptly stabbed through the shoulder.

"Bastard."

"You didn't answer my question." Waka brushed off the insult.

Lily dropped her hammer and ran a hand around her arm, now stained with blood, before sliding the blade out of her shoulder.

"Well, if you want an answer..."

Without further warning, she flicked her wrist upward and knocked the lightsaber out of Waka's hand. It skidded across the floor, the glow vanishing with a soft click.

Lily pushed the sword's hilt toward him, clutching her bleeding shoulder with the other hand. "_There's_ your answer."

The cave was silent for a moment, the two once again standing in complete darkness. Then, slowly, the echo of clapping bounced off the walls.

"Magnifique! Oh, Lilian-"

"My frickin' NAME is frickin' LILY."

"You really are getting handy in combat." Waka laughed. Lily rolled her eyes, hands now sticky with crimson as a flash of fire appeared a few feet away. The woman 'holding' the flames didn't seem amused.

"Are you two done messing around?"

"Call it training." Waka shrugged just as Lily muttered "sorry, Lady Amaterasu."

The goddess's scowl melted into a mischievous grin. "How many times do I have to tell you that there's no need for formalities?"

The younger member of the group managed a weak smile. "Okay, okay. Mind telling prophet to clean up the messes he makes, _Ammy_?"

"I don't start messes." The man in question declared. "I just took on the challenge she gave me. And might I add that you're the one who can regenerate your wounds, being a spirit?"

Sure enough, Lily's injury was starting to disappear. All that remained was the blood running down her arm and staining her hand.

"Whatever." She grabbed her hammer from the ground and rested it on the unhurt shoulder. "...it's still pretty much hell out there. We're locked in."

"So they're either trying to force us to come out when we're bored of being locked in here..." Amaterasu trailed off.

"... or continue our descent and face a possible ambush." Waka finished. "Looks like our decision's been made for us, no?"

"Great. Deeper into the dark, scary, and ominous cave we go." Lily complained, passing him by. "I would say go with the danger we know, but being burned alive isn't on my to-do list."

"So you're admitting that I'm right."

"I'll start admitting to you being right when you start saying my name correctly. It got old four months ago."

"No, I'm pretty sure you just admitted that I'm right."

Amaterasu sighed. "I just hope that none of them are dying while you two are arguing the day away."

Lily bit her lip and looked away. "No way to be sure. And Sayuri hasn't contacted in a few days, either."

"If Sayuri were in trouble, we would know." The prophet pointed out. "Her visits are when she feels like it. The last of the Storm Tri-"

"We agreed not to bring that up!" Lily snapped, voice coming out harsher than she had meant. The cave went silent and her words grew softer. "Sayuri said the People of the Storm were taboo to mention by that name. Remember?"

"It's been six hundred years since then." Amaterasu commented. "I don't remember much about the Okami of that time, but I doubt the curse on the... the People of the Storm would last for this long."

"She makes a very good point." Waka agreed.

Lily sighed, turning and marching down the path leading deeper into the cave.

"As long as the People of the Storm are alive, none of you are going to be safe. Why don't you get it?" She whispered. "Sayuri, you have to be more careful than this...!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Come on... come on..." I muttered, circling around a Green Imp, the newly-named Third Tempest held in both hands and more than ready to strike. "Attack, you stupid little-"

It chose that moment to lunge forward and smack me with its paddle. I rubbed my forehead irritably and slashed at it, finally in the fray.

The barrier died down a few seconds later, leaving me back in the middle of the cursed Shinshu Field and trying to get myself together before taking some more demons out.

"_Training._ Great idea, Lilac," I told myself sarcastically, throwing down Third Tempest and laying back against a rock for a few minutes. "At least it works for money farming..."

It had to have been at least half an hour since Chibi, Kuni, and Susano headed back to Kamiki, and being the sociopath I am, yours truly stayed out in the field and chose to try and get some practice in with the spearblade.

That would also be my excuse for being able to yell "MONEY MONEY MONEY" at the end of every fight.

I took a breath and got back up. "All right, time to do what we do best and rush right into the face of danger."

And thus running-into-another-Demon-Scroll time.

Another Green Imp stared me down, alone this time. I actually just stood there and raised an eyebrow.

It wasn't because he was a Green Imp.

It was because there was a _flower _painted on his mask instead of the half-black, half-white design I'd been seeing lately.

The Imp finally broke the silence. "Err... is there a problem?"

I just continued staring before trying to choke back laughter. And failing spectacularly.

He poked me with his paddle while I rolled around on the ground cackling like an idiot. When I finally came to my senses, the demon scuttled back like he was... _scared._

"Okay, sorry about that." I apologized, getting back to my feet and trying my best to pull a straight face. "It's just-"

"I'm not weird, okay?" The Imp interrupted, voice panicked now. "Honest! If I am, it's not my fault, I didn't _want_ to be weird, you don't think I'm weird, do you?"

I stopped and stared. "... Well... I wouldn't go as far as to call you _weird..._"

The crazed thing just broke down sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm a terrible excuse for a demon, _don't eat me_!"

...

All right, this was just getting out of hand.

I spun Third Tempest around and whacked the psycho upside the head with the handle. "Geez, calm down! No one's going to eat you. Least I'm not. Now shut up for five seconds before I decide to put you out of your misery after all."

He just stared at me with an expression I was assuming to be pitiful (I mean seriously, how's anyone supposed to tell)and I sighed. "Where'd you crawl out from, anyway? Most of your kind are bent on human genocide."

The Imp twiddled his thumbs together, paddle lying on the ground next to him. "The Demon Market. I... ditched my partner. He was abusing me, and... I got sick of it."

Demon Market. That made all the sense in the world.

... This is _Nippon_ we're talking about. What am I saying?

"And is the Demon Market full of wei-" I noticed him start shaking and quickly switched tracks. "-I mean, umm, _gentler _demons like you?"

"... No. I was always the freak."

I smacked my forehead. "You're not a freak. You're the most sane demon I've ever met, now quit putting yourself down. Let me guess, you've got a name, right?"

"Hal." He muttered.

"Ooooo_kay_ then, Hal, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to walk over to that crack in the barrier, pretend to run away, and also pretend that this encounter never happened. _You_ pull your act together. I mean, seriously, you might be a demon, but at least you're _alive_, right?" I crossed my arms. "Sound like a plan?"

"So you won't kill me?" Hal asked, glancing up hopefully.

"... No. No, I will not kill you. That's sort of the point here, buddy."

"Thank you!" The demon exclaimed, jumping back to his feet and grabbing his paddle. "If I ever see you again, I'll repay the favor! I promise!"

"Yeah. Sure." I nodded slowly, backing away and then completely turning and running.

_... Well, today's been full of... slightly creepy encounters,_ I thought, coming back out. _What time is it, anyway?_

_Somewhere around 8 at night._ Mimiru told me.

_... Really? The sky's still pink, no one else would be able to tell._ I rolled my eyes and started walking away from the Demon Scroll, putting away Third Tempest. _So what time did I get stuck with you?_

It was still daylight. I want to say about 4, maybe 5 at absolute latest. She pondered. _Although it was a pretty long while between that and now. How long do you think we were in Hana Valley?_

You think I was keeping track? You're the one who can tell what time it is! I smacked my forehead with one hand. _... Anyway, if Kuni and Chibi are coming back out here, it probably won't be till tomorrow. Think we're up for some camping?_

I'm perfectly comfortable in here. You're the one camping. Mimiru was unamused.

_... You know what I mean._ I sighed. _... Hey, Mimiru?_

_What._

_You're being nice to me._

Tolerant.

Sounds like nice to me.

I'm being tolerant_, all right?_

I just rolled my eyes. _All right, fine. You're being _tolerant_. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit next to that nice rock over there and try to get some sleep._

Mimiru didn't reply, so that's exactly what I did.

**0-0-0-0-0**

A few hours before dawn, I felt someone shaking my shoulder. "Li, c'mon. There's not much time right now."

"Give me twenty more minutes, Claus." I muttered, turning over against the rock. There was a brief pause and an exasperated sigh.

"I can and will bring Issun into this if I can figure out where he is."

That got me to crack an eye open. And then the other one, with it.

"Where the hell have you been?"

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Congratulations! It's a filler chapter!_

_*smacked upside the head with a newspaper*_

_IT HAS HAL YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID. Hal is my new favorite minor character. HUGGLES._

Lilac: ... She's hugging an Imp. This... isn't awkward at all...

_Next chapter's gonna be a really long one because we're covering a **lot** of ground with it, from skipping some detours to right before the Demon Market. And everything in between is nice, juicy, and plot-filled just for you all._

And that is exactly why THAT will be the chapter not uploaded until Wednesday.

_Next chapter of Closer (didn't we just discuss this?): Chapter 8 - **The Meeting Becomes a Parting**! _

**Waka: Review, everyone!**

Lilac: ... *turns to Senom, eye twitching visibly* NO.

Senom: It was the fangirls, they made m-

Lilac: He does NOT get his own review request and _damn_ well doesn't in THIS story! I have to put up with enough of his crap in the NEXT two-

**Senom: I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyy-**

**Lilac: BAD SENOM. BAD. GO BACK TO BED.**

**Senom: ... *sad dummy***


	8. Twists, Turns, and Timeskips

_Here begins Chapter 8 of Closer to the Rising Sun, in which we're about... *checks the outline*_

Lilac: Shocker. I didn't even think she was following that thing anymore.

... over halfway done with this plot arc! 8D Also, this chapter was done just in the nick of time to be uploaded before Wednesday! *dead from all the Closer work lately*

_Lilac: Joy. Thanks to **TheManWithBacon**, **TheGreatMikeyWeston** (your Monster Reviews are late. Speed it up, c'mon. *snaps fingers several times*), and **Spirits and Shadows** for reviewing, as usual._

**Chibi: My turn for another disclaimer! 8D**

Lilac: Okay, he's obviously high on whatever SENOM'S high on, so who gave them both sake?

Issun: *whistles innocently*

Chibi: Senom299 doesn't own anything but her OCs! She doesn't own the commercial song for Okamiden, Hanataba by Kii Kitano, but she does own the lyrics she wrote for them!

**Lilac: ... It was freaking TWO OF THE VERSES. *facepalm***

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Where the hell have you been?" I snapped, trying to keep up with my grandfather for a 'stroll' across what wasn't cursed of Shinshu Field.

"I was busy, all right?" Oni threw a hand up. "Trying to figure out the situation on everyone else's side of all this."

My anger melted away. "You know what's going on up there?"

"Not exactly." He pulled out a scroll and handed it to me. "I found this lying next to the Guardian Sapling out here. I think Lily wanted you to find it."

"Well, it's about that point in time." I tried to grin. "Did you look yet?"

"No. Go ahead and see what we've got."

I pulled the scroll open and glanced over it, hopes high. _At least we've got a message. That means they're okay..._

"_Sheesh, it takes forever to find a pond in this cave. Which is creepy, because it's so damp._

"But you don't really care about that, huh?

"Sorry the last one ended off so abruptly. Waka said we were running out of time, stole the paper, scribbled something, threw it in the water, and dragged me off. That's the last time I let him come with me to send a message.

_"Anyway, everyone's still alive, so you don't need to worry about that. Meanwhile, Her Shining Majesty says she can feel a change in the mortal world below-for the better. I guess that means you're taking a step in the right direction, so good work so far."_

I glanced up and gave Oni a thumbs up. "Nobody's dead or fatally wounded."

He just nodded. "Keep going."

_"And yet no one's telling me shit about what's actually going on down there besides 'evil, danger'. Li, you and Chibi need to be careful. Just keep fighting and stay strong._

"I wish I could give you more than this, but good luck. I love you, and tell Oni I'm waiting for him."

I paused, handing the scroll back after reading the line after that.

_We believe in you all._

"So it's all good news," I noted. "So we don't have to worry just yet."

"I think we should start worrying if we _don't_ get a message for a while." He put the scroll away. "Hey, Li... I need to talk to you about something."

"What? What's wrong?"

"..." Oni shook his head, letting out a sigh. "There's something that's been feeling off for a while. Not the demons, not the curse on the lands, but... this power that's getting stronger, steadily. And with that, I feel like my own power's fading."

I stared, trying to make the information register. "You're going to die?"

"No, not that." He shook his head again. "But it's like I'm fighting off a curse of my own right now. I don't know what it is, but obviously it doesn't approve of me being a piece on this board."

_Piece on the board._

My eyes widened.

_A piece in this... game..._

_Mimiru!_

"I think I know what it is." I muttered. Oni raised an eyebrow.

"You do?"

"The curse. I know what it is."

Cue explanation of events thus far. You don't want to read this, I'm sure.

"You know... Sayuri brought something like that up once." My grandfather contemplated. "A spirit claiming to be sent by the fates to take out what doesn't belong. But I've really never heard of this sort of thing aside from that."

"Maybe she thinks you're a threat to the game." I decided. "I mean, you're not a part of this world originally..."

Mimiru was being eerily silent through all this.

"That could be it." Oni shrugged. "But if I do disappear... You'll be okay on your own, right?"

"Yeah." I placed my hand into his. "Promise."

"Then it's your game, princess." He grinned at me for the first time in a while and stood back up. "Good luck."

"You're leaving me? Seriously?" I snapped, trailing behind him as he started to walk off. "Weren't you the one in charge of Chibi's safety when you two escaped?"

"I trust you, Li." Oni called over his shoulder. "I'll see you around."

I watched him leave, just standing there on the grass before sighing.

"Yeah... trust me. Sure you do."

The night fell silent, and I found myself feeling more alone than ever.

_... Mimiru?_

There was no reply.

... Great. Even the voice in my head had left me alone. I muttered something under my breath and started walking back to that rock.

At least it was supposed to be almost morning anyway, so hopefully Chibi and Kuni wouldn't take their sweet time...

**0-0-0-0-0**

Actually, they didn't keep me waiting that long.

It might've only been an hour later when I woke up again to Chibi licking my face.

"Okay, okay, that's enough close contact for right now!" I laughed, pushing him off. "How'd it go?"

_Sakuya says we need to start going toward Ryoshima Coast._ Chibi confirmed. _So... Agata Forest is where we should go first, I think._

"Let's start with restoring Shinshu Field first." Kuni decided. "You know what to do, Mutt! Let's go!"

_I really wish you'd learn my name._ Chibi sighed, trailing off to the Guardian Sapling.

Ten minutes later:

"GREAT DIVINE RESTORATION HOLY CRAP PRETTY."

After that little mishap...

_Maybe Agata Forest can wait._ The young god commented. _I think we should explore Shinshu Field and then drop by Yakushi Village._

"... Someone built a village in the span of nine months?"

"It started up about seven months ago." Kuni informed me. "Some construction workers from the city came and started tunneling through the cliffs, found a valley, and started making a village out of it. They're not doing too well, though. At least, that's what I've heard."

"... Oooooookay then." I didn't press the matter any further.

_Anyway, you want to come, Li? Come on, it'll do you some good to be social!_ Chibi begged. I gritted my teeth, trying my best not to give i-

_Those eyes._

_Those freaking adorable eyes._

... I CAN'T SAY NO TO THOSE EYES.

"All right, fine! I'll go!" I groaned, facepalming. "But if this ends up as some sort of sidequest that takes us two hours to finish up with, we're skipping it."

"Wow, how'd he get you to agree to that?" Kuni asked as we started walking off.

"Those puppy eyes, Kuni. Those puppy eyes."

**0-0-0-0-0**

"I cannot believe you made me do this." I muttered, trailing behind Chibi and Kuni with my arms hugged to my chest. "I _cannot believe-_"

"You said it fifteen times now."

"Hypocrite."

"What?"

I'd jinxed us. It'd become a sidequest after going to speak with Tama, who for the life of me I can't figure out how he was managing to send up that SOS signal whilst lying on the floor sick, and Kuni volunteering that we'd go get some medicine to help him.

I hate it when I'm right.

So in we went to Yakushi Village.

Chibi took up the lead. _If I remember right, Dr. Redbeard's house is just up ahead._

I tried not to say anything involving pirates.

It took all of the self-control I had in me, trust me.

And the stroll was interrupted by a random little girl lying in the middle of the walkway.

Kuni, being the brave and valiant hero he was, dashed up next to her. "Hey, are you okay?"

She got back up dizzily, nodding. "Yes... Thank you. I'm fine."

"What happened? Did you take a tumble from somewhere?"

_Kuni is being strangely hero-like._ Chibi noted.

_Yeah..._

"I was just trying to climb up the hill to see the fireworks." The girl explained. "They're so beautiful up there... You get a perfect view."

_That's Ayame, by the way._ Chibi told me while Kuni took up the conversation. _I met her earlier with Issun._

_Got it. Thanks._

"Fireworks? Coooool." Our partner drew out the word and I resisted the urge to facepalm.

_Boys._

Hey-!

_Not you, Chibi._

_..._

"They usually go up about this time of year, but I haven't seen any yet... I wonder what's wrong?" Ayame pondered.

"You really like the fireworks that much?" Kuni asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ayame's expression turned mournful. "... I do. But... to tell you the truth, I have a disease that even the medicine here can't cure."

... Oh. Ouch. That explained a lot.

And... somehow reminded me of my brother.

_Oh, god, Li, don't start thinking about Claus._ I groaned mentally. _Don't start thinking about him now, of all times..._

"It's incurable?" Kuni asked, like he hadn't understood.

Ayame nodded. "The doctors say that I barely have a year left to live. My mother and I came to this village because we heard about Dr. Redbeard's medicine and how wonderful it is. But not even that can cure me."

That actually seemed to put Kuni in some dampened spirits. "I'm... I'm so sorry to hear that..."

"So I just had to come here to see the fireworks." She continued. "This might be the last time I ever see them."

"So you're going to wait for them on top of that hill?"

Facepalming urge: Subdued. Urge to smack Kuni upside the head: Not so much.

"Yes. ... Well, I'd better get going. Thanks for talking with me. Bye!" Ayame started walking off.

There was an awkward silence between the three of us and I glanced at Kuni and Chibi.

"Who's in as far as helping her goes?"

Kuni raised his hand. "Definitely."

_You read my mind!_ Chibi agreed.

And thus off we went to see the doctor.

And suddenly lazy authors.

**0-0-0-0-0**

One strangled Senom and about an hour later, we were out in Shinshu Field on a demon hunt.

"Li, I didn't think you'd want to help with this kind of thing." Kuni finally commented as we got the Fuse. And no, that doesn't mean we got the princess of the area that was absent in this adventure.

"What do you mean? Do I come off as _that_ heartless?" I raised an eyebrow at him, placing Third Tempest back in its loop.

"Not really, but you don't like dealing with people. And there you went dealing with it to help her."

I sighed, glancing up at the sky. Clouds had started to block off the sun, which was crawling to about a 1 PM position.

"... It's because of my brother."

Chibi glanced up. _You have a brother?_

"Yeah." My voice grew softer. "His name's Claus. He's... he's going crazy. Literally. He's always been a little wrong in the head, but it's been getting more serious these past few months. He'll come off as sane, but every now and then he has these... spasms..."

A memory flashed across my brain and I shut my eyes tightly, trying to block it out.

_No! Go away...!_

It was too late. I just opened my eyes again, letting it replay. "... Two months ago, I thought he was dying. I came home and he was lying on the floor, muttering something about... about how much he hated me."

The other two just stared.

I went on, biting my lip slightly. "He went on about how he hated our whole family, that he just wanted to run off and never come back. Or... that he wanted to..."

_... to die._

"... That's... that's got to hurt." Kuni finally spoke up.

"We were able to help him through it," I added quickly. "He's... almost sort of okay now. But it still hurts, thinking about it..."

We were silent for a bit.

_Hey, look, there's another marked Demon Scroll!_

"KILL IT."

**0-0-0-0-0**

And another few hours later because the entire detour was supposed to be skipped to begin with...

"All right, we can blow things up now!" Kuni cheered.

"Hooray, we can terrorize everything in Nippon now!" I imitated.

The two stared.

"... never mind."

And thus onward we went to Agata Forest.

"Sheesh, what happened out here?" I asked as we stepped through the ruined wall. "It looks like a hurricane came through."

"And it's all cursed." Kuni added. "Guess we have to take care of all this before we can get any further south."

"Then let's go!"

Cue marching over a bunch of logs, an intense amount of Lilac swearing mentally, and much insanity before arriving at the Guardian Sapling.

Cue Bloom.

Cue that scene everyone loves.

"Annnnnnnnd one Agata Forest, restored!" I announced, clapping.

"Think the flood's still out there?" Kuni asked.

"... Probably."

_Well, we should head back out anyway._ Chibi decided. _Come on, guys, let's go._

We started to head back out, and Kuni decided it was a brilliant idea to go check out a side path. Grudgingly, I followed ("This is a waste of time, I swear...") into the connecting tunnel.

Greeting us was a treasure chest, a signboard, and...

... a flower patch.

Several of them, actually. At least five different types, blooming like their lives were blazing bright as any fire.

"... Wow." Kuni finally breathed out. "How are these blooming here in a cave like this?"

_Think it was the Great Divine Restoration?_ Chibi asked, trying to get a good look at the sign. I shook my head.

"It was... This was Issun."

"Seriously?"

I pressed a hand against the wood, reading over the message and then taking a sharp breath. "He did it to prove that he finally could do something like this. That he really is slowly making progress on the road he's walking down."

_Wow..._ Chibi trailed off. _He wasn't able to restore Sakuya's tree, so I had to do it... I had no clue he could do something like this._

"After the last time I saw him do anything with his brush that wasn't painting on paper? Me either." I admitted, managing a weak smile.

It was almost like a message.

"_If I find myself lost without a path_

_Let me follow my heart, with the flowers from your hand._

_Guided by a voice with no direction; _

_Won't you please lead me to my destination?_"

Kuni glanced up. "Li, that's... you?"

Chibi just looked at me with a seriousness I'd never seen before in his eyes.

"_Whether we face regret or hope_

_I'll hold onto your hand, swear to be your single support.  
I'll never know what it really means to love;_

_But I think it just might be something like kindness..."_

The cave fell silent, and the only sound that whistled through the open air was the wind itself. I got up, turning around.

"... Come on, guys. We have to go."

**0-0-0-0-0**

Back outside in Agata Forest, we got the fortune to meet up with someone that I got the strange feeling that should've been dead in another, alternate universe.

Also I got the urge to make a Burger King joke.

"Who are you?" Everyone's not-really-favorite-face-it-you-all-only-cared-about-this-area-in-the-last-game-because-of-Waka kid wearing a dead rabbit asked, turning around. "Haven't seen your faces around here before."

Kuni took the speaking role. "I'm Kuni, and this is my pal Mu-"

"-_Chibi_ and I'm Lilac." I interrupted, shooting Kuni a dark glare that he was completely oblivious to. Kokari also didn't seem to notice.

"Hah, well, I'm Kokari and this is Ume." He gestured to the dog beside him, who let out an enthusiastic bark.

_Oh, right. That pink dog from Tsuta Ruins..._

_... I still have no clue how the hell that was possible._

"So what're you fishing for?" Kuni asked, starting up a conversation as always.

"Not some ordinary mackerel-" I caught a glint in the fishing boy's eye. Ooooh boy, here we go. "-I'm after a monster catfish!"

Which caused our companion to scuttle back, breaking into a cold sweat. "M-monster catfish?"

I started to wonder if hearing aids existed in Nippon. Obviously, Kuni needed some.

Kokari didn't seem to notice. "Yup. Going through this forest is the only way to get to and from the city and Shinshu Field. But because of that giant catfish, it's like this. So I'm fishing to catch it, stop it, and help everyone."

"Pretty valiant of you." I commented. And was promptly ignored.

"Say, that's quite the fishing pole you've got there." Country changed the subject. (Yes, I'm back on doing that.)

"Thanks. It's from my dad."

"So, does your dad fish too?"

I started to block out the conversation and instead chose to talk to Chibi behind the sidelines. He was staring intently at Ume, apparently conversing with the dog.

_Soooo._

So?

... I'm sorry, I start tuning out conversations after a little while of being ignored like this.

Chibi gave me a wolfish grin. _That might not be such a good idea. I heard that you had a better attention span than my mom and Issun._

... Who told you that?

Momma.

I resisted the urge to facepalm. _Chibi, I know she would nap during conversations, but she's not the only one that zones out. My attention span isn't that long._

_You sure?_

Hey, look, a butterfly.

Which promptly set Chibi off, telepathically yelling _WHERE_ and frolicking off to find it. Kokari and Kuni just stared after him awkwardly, while Ume was apparently trying to get a nap in.

"... I'll go get him." I facepalmed, running off after the younger god. We managed to go all the way up the hill and meet with another signboard from Issun. I just skimmed down to the last line before raising an eyebrow.

"_Take these, you look like you need the-_ How the hel- ... the heck can he tell?"

Chibi just stared at me, picking up the ink pots. _I wanna know how the ink pots popped out of the signboard like that._

"... Okay, next time we see that jerk, we're getting some answers out of him."

Kuni met us halfway back down. "So what happened?

_She lied to me._ Chibi tried his best to look hurt and succeeded.

I just smacked my forehead with one hand again. "I told him there was a butterfly and he ran off like a psycho looking for it."

_She still lied to me._

"I was proving a point!"

"If you guys are done, there's something splashing around over in the lake that I wanted to see." Kuni interrupted. "Come on, let's go!"

Chibi just shook his head, pulled Kuni on his back, and took off down the hill. I groaned, trailing behind.

"You guys better not make running ahead of me a habit..."

"Call it payback for Hana Valley!" Kuni called back. I rolled my eyes and picked up the pace.

By the time I finally caught up, Country was back on the ground and Chibi was shaking out his fur irritably.

"Hey, it's a mermaid!"

I glanced out at the water.

What do you know.

There was.

The mermaid girl seemed to glance up at us before diving back down in the water. Kuni had the fortune of her popping up right in front of his face.

"Oh? A puppy... It's you!" Recognition flooded her face as she stared dead at Chibi.

_Uuuuhhhh..._

"What? You know Mutt?" Kuni asked. I flicked him in the shoulder.

"Owwww! What was that for?"

"Every time you call him that, that's what's gonna happen."

"You don't have to be so mean about it, Chibi doesn't sound strong..."

"Then you're going to have to be strong enough to quit whining when I keep flicking you."

"Of course I do!" The mermaid told him cheerfully. "We're friends. Hey, Squiddy." She turned back to Chibi petted him a little bit.

_AAAAAAAH! WATER ON MY FUR! WATER ON MY FUR!_ He spazzed.

"_Squiddy_?" Kuni and I chorused, both visibly sweatdropping.

"What's wrong? It's me, Nanami." She looked hurt, then turned to me. "You don't remember me either, do you, Elza?"

My eye twitched. "... Elza?"

"You never said you didn't like the name." Nanami tilted her head slightly, then sighed. "I can't believe it. I just saw you two the other day!"

_... HOLY CRAP SHE'S BEEN STALKING US THIS WHOLE TIME?_

"And you're with another friend, I see," She continued. "What happened to your friend with the blonde hair?"

Something in my brain clicked and I tried my best not to start spazzing all over the ground.

"Anyway, whatever. I have my hands full myself today."

"With what?"

Nanami started looking anxious. "A very important treasure was stolen, and it's my job to get it back."

And with that, she dove back under the surface and swam off without another word.

"Treasure, huh..." Kuni watched her go. "I'd like to help you get it back, but... in the water, there isn't much we can do..."

Chibi, meanwhile, was still spazzing about his wet fur.

"Chibi, calm down, it's not that ba-"

_IT'S VERY BAD. MY FUR. IT'S WET. AAAAGH._

Kuni tapped me on the shoulder and I glared back. He just grinned.

"So. Elza, huh?"

"Shut _up,_ Country."

Chibi finally shook his fur out to an extent that he was happy with. _Come on, guys. I wanna go see what's up this way._

And so we went up _another_ hill.

And went in a random tent.

_This is... creepy._ I admitted to Chibi mentally, trailing behind the two boys again. The woman sitting behind the table laughed softly.

"Welcome, children. I am Madame Fawn. These bones tell all, and the future I do see. Even the great Amaterasu relied on my prophecies."

... And yet no matter how many times I racked my brain, I couldn't come up with anything except _This lady better not be related to Waka._

Madame Fawn just chuckled again, staring up at us with slightly glazed-over eyes. "I sense a bad aura coming from you..." _... the curse? _"Pay me and I will tell you your fortune."

Kuni glanced at us. "Want to give it a go?"

I just shrugged and took out five hundred yen, passing it over the table. "Please, ma'am."

"Ha ha ha! Allow me to decipher your future with the bones!" She cackled, then proceeding to dance while sitting down.

Okay then, not creepy at all.

"Five blue fairies stand out against the night sky." _HOLY CRAP, NAVI CLONES! WHYYYY?_ "Use them to make a star, and with it you will find the sea treasure. That... is all I can tell you."

"The sea treasure... what Nanami's searching for, y'think?" Kuni asked.

"The rest is up to you. And since you are my first customers in a long time, take this parting gift. But remember, this is a one time only deal." Madame Fawn instructed, handing over three pieces of cloth.

"It's... just some white cloth...?" Kuni raised an eyebrow.

"Ahahaha... The time will come when you will need this." She smiled knowingly and leaned back. "In the not-too-distant future. Now stop talking and take it with you."

"Thank you." I nodded hurriedly before Kuni tried to make an idiot of himself again. He nodded and muttered the same, and we left.

"... An unavoidable, difficult farewell awaits you." I stopped in the 'door', turning to glance at the old woman. She looked dead at me, as Kuni and Chibi were already outside. "When that time comes, hold fast to your heart, and press on."

"... Did you say something?" I asked, playing the idiot myself. Madame Fawn laughed.

"Off with you, girl. You asked, paid, and I delivered."

"... Thank you." I nodded, rushing out after the other two...

... only to find that they'd already gone downhill.

"... _YOU GUYS!_" I groaned, running after them. "I stop in the doorway for TWENTY SECONDS and this happens?"

"Payback for Hana Valley, I told you!" Kuni informed me cheerfully when I finally caught up, then gestured out to the water through the darkness of the breaking evening. "Take a look over there."

Five small blazes of fire rotated in a circle over the water and I exchanged a glance with the two of them. "Think those are...?

_Five fairies._ Chibi confirmed, readying his tail and painting a star between them...

... only for nothing to happen.

"What went wrong?" I asked slowly. Chibi just shook his head, confused, and tried again.

Forty tries later:

_THANK you!_ The wolf pup groaned as the star seemed to finally be accepted by the balance of the universe, and a portal formed in the water.

"Look, there's an entrance!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!"

"So... where do you think it leads?"

_Let's find out._

"... You're saying we should go in?"

"Kuni, do you need hearing aids?"

Comment: Ignored.

_... Or are you scared?_

"What? Scared? Me? Ha!" He laughed nervously. "Nope, n-not scared at all! It's just... I don't really believe in prophecies and spells."

I suddenly wondered if I should tell him about the encounter that had come about the last time I was in Agata Forest.

"Trusting in prophecies won't make you a hero." He continued. Chibi shook his head sadly.

_... Sorry, Kuni, but I gotta stand up for _my _dad here._

"Wait, wha-"

Chibi tackled him so that he fell forward into the portal, then turned to me with that grin on his face. I just sighed.

_What? He _is _my dad! ... Sort of. Anyway, ladies first._

"Fine, fine, whatever. Issun's not here, so... leap before you think..."

For once in my life, I'll admit that truer words have never been spoken.

At least, not in Nippon.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Thus ends another slightly longer chapter in which we covered a lot of ground!_

Yes, the original title of this chapter was 'The Meeting Becomes a Parting', but I changed it up so that 'parting' isn't going to happen until after the Demon Market.

Speaking of the Demon Market, that's where we're headed next chapter of Closer: Chapter 9, Where Monsters Now Thrive!

If anyone gets the reference I swear I will love you forever.

_Lilac: ... it's sad that I can recite this off the top of my head. "... and their unstoppable conquest ground to a halt. They abandoned the mine... where monsters now thrive."_

See, Li really does care about her origin!

Lilac: I DID NOT COME FROM A CAVE FULL OF MINECARTS, BOMBS, AND ORCS. 

_Yeah, well don't say you came from Tipa. Cause you didn't._

**Nanami: Revie-**

Lilac: NO.

Nanami: ... What?

Lilac: You're not a formal partner yet and I am NOT standing for this.

Kuni: You're just sore about earlier, _Elza._

**Lilac: Shut up, _Country_!**

Kokari: ... review? Why am I here? ._.''


	9. Where Monsters Now Thrive

_Welcome to Chapter 9! Which is coming up on 10!_

Don't they grow up fast when you're high off your own projects *sniffles*

And thus... begins the adventures in the Demon Market.

I don't know if I love this place or hate this place.

_There were no reviewers (o_o) for the last chapter, so no reviewers to thank._

And to think... I was going to give out these brownies... *gives screen her best sadface*  


**Kuni: Senom299 doesn't own anything but her OCs! *rushed***

Lilac: Ffffffffffffffffff-

**0-0-0-0-0**

The Demon Market.

It was... loud, to say the least.

Kuni rolled out of the way right before I hit the floor, hissing on contact. Then Chibi bounced off my side.

"What the craaaaaaaaaaa-owwww..." I muttered, trying to push myself up. Kuni grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind a wall. "What was that for, Country?"

"Sssssssshhhhh!" Kuni hissed. "This is the monsters' marketplace!"

"... Okay..."

"We have to get out of here!"

"Madame Fawn's prophecy thing literally said we had to come down here, Kuni."

_You're calm about it._

"You'd be okay, Mutt, because you're a dog." Kuni pointed out. "But Li and I are humans! They'll spot us right away."

And suddenly random floating cloths.

"The cloths... Hey, that's right! If we draw the face of a monster on the clo-"

I clapped a hand over his mouth. "Chibi, drawing absolutely _anything_ will work. These are Imps, they're guilible that way. Draw whatever you like."

_You sure?_ He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yep."

Kuni protested by flailing his arms.

"I hate to rush it, but hurry up, we're going to get caught here if we stand around for the next two days." I informed our partner. Nodding, he quickly painted... a pair of sunglasses.

I didn't even know sunglasses were invented in Nippon.

_Mine._

"... Who taught you about swag?"

Chibi gave me an innocent look. _I have no clue what you're talking about._

Kuni flailed his arms uselessly again, reminding me I was still touching him. Partly disgusted, I let go and crossed my arms.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Li and I need them too!"

_All right, already!_ Chibi was unamused, painting an awesome face (HOW) and literally tossing it at Kuni. _That's yours!  
_  
"... It looks stupid."

"It looks fitting."

Chibi's tail flicked around the page for a moment before holding up the last cloth between his teeth. _Well?_

I took the cloth and held it up, trying to hold back laughter.

_What? It's something you'd say!_

"What'd he do?" Kuni asked, leaning over to look. I held it further out of his reach.

"Put yours on and I'll put on mine." I sighed, still grinning. Grudgingly, he complied.

I was just worried about prancing around the demon market with a face that had an arrow pointing to my right, where Kuni was walking, and the words _I'm With Stupid_.

And thus, we started our journey through the Demon Market. It was loud, it smelled like the Moon Cave, and demons were waving their wares in our faces constantly.

"Hey there, want to buy some fingers?"

"Bones for sale!"

"Can I buy your ear off you?"

"What? No!"

After the mishap of some crazy Red Wildfire (technically, that was what they were called. And yet we kept calling them fairies.) trying to buy Kuni's ear, we came across another one at a closed gate. Only purple.

"You want in here? I haven't seen your faces around these parts before."

"Yeah, you could say we're... uh... first time visitors." Kuni explained pathetically. "So about letting us in..."

"I'd like to, but the rules say I can't." The gatekeeper apologized. "And I ain't one to break the rules, y'know. No siree, not me."

Well, at least we knew we weren't talking to Tobi's reincarnation.

… Excuse me while I go sob like a lunatic in that corner over there.

"Unless, of course, you gave me something the table..."

_Liiiike? _Chibi pressed, forgetting the fact that Kuni and I were the only ones that could hear him.

"And you know what I want? I want one of those Fire Eyes! I can never find 'em!" He lamented. "Tell you what. Get me a Fire Eye and I'll let you in."

"Oooookay, then!" I coughed. "C'mon, guys, let's go."

"Not that you're going to be able to find one!" The gatekeeper called after us.

We were already heading to the vendor on the complete other side of the room.

"I got all sorts of bones on sale! What can I get you?" The shopkeeper fairy slash wildfire asked, tone a lot more jovial than most of the owners in the area.

"You wouldn't happen to have any Fire Eyes on hand, would you?" I asked slowly, fingers crossed behind my back.

"Oh, you're looking for Fire Eyes, are you?" _No derr, Sherlock. _"Luckily for you... I just restocked!"

It took everything in me not to highfive Kuni. And highfive/paw Chibi.

"Really?" Kuni asked hopefully, leaning forward slightly on his position on Chibi's back. I'd been making sure to stay to his left the whole time.

"You want one?" The demon asked, handing it over. Without hands. "It's yours!"

"Thank you." I nodded, trying to keep a cheerful expression before realizing he couldn't see it anyway and dropping the act.

"There you are. Need an extra side helping of bones with that, too?"

"Hold on. Do people really buy that stuff?" Kuni whispered to me as we walked away.

"You're thinking people as in humans. This is demons we're talking about." I whispered back as we came back up to the gatekeeper.

"Hey! You got one of them Fire Eyes!" He exclaimed. "How'd you find it?"

"You wouldn't believe what I had to do, but it's yours if you want it." Kuni muttered, handing it over.

"_You_ had to do?" I rolled my eyes, unseen by all.

"Can't believe you're just giving it to me... well, go on, then." The gatekeeper nodded to us (somehow) as the gate fell apart.

"You mean it? Thanks!"

"I may be a demon, but a promise is a promise. Now in with ya!"

I nodded in thanks and followed Kuni and Chibi through the gate. "Well... that's some progress made."

_We're not out of here yet, _Chibi reminded. _We still have to find that 'sea treasure'._

"I know, I know. But small steps and all that."

"Hey, what's this signboard say?" Kuni diverted our attention to said signboard. "The Fairy Board. What's that?"

"Some demon thing." I shrugged, stepping forward. "_Notice: Beware the Witch Queen! You know her and love her, but the Witch Queen likes to eat us when she's tired. _Errr... well then. _If she starts inhaling, you start hiding. Her back is a good place to hide because it's been weak and hollow recently._"

"They're advertising to hide behind the person you're hiding from?" Kuni asked in disbelief.

"Demons." I shook my head. "No clue what it's actually trying to say."

"Me either..."

So we checked the other one.

"_The Fairy Board. Earthquake update: Last night's temblor-_What's a temblor?" Kuni stopped.

"I think they mean tremor. Or something." I stared at the paper and shook my head. "_The earthquake's source is, once again, the Witch Queen._"

"What do they mean, she's the source of the earthquake?"

_Maybe she ate one too many of her demon minions? _Chibi shrugged.Somehow. _Come on, we have to keep moving. Not that fairy gossip isn't interesting, but still._

And so, we did.

There was one interesting fairy with some good gossip to tell us, though...

"Have you heard about that catfish swimming around up above like nobody's business?" He asked, seeming half uninterested in his own conversation. "Word on the wind says he believes in some legend 'bout swimming up a waterfall and becoming a dragon. Telling people to call him Master Carp."

"Master Carp? Really?" I sweatdropped.

"... Moron. I hope that idiot drowns."

And suddenly I'd taken a liking to this fairy.

… Moving on.

We headed up the steps to find... Another fairy!

"I don't like your face." Said fairy declared. "You're not getting through."

"Well, aren't you polite about it." I muttered.

"... What's that? You want to get through?"

"Yes. Yes, we do."

Kuni spoke over me. "Yeah, we've got... err... business in there."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"You wouldn't let us!"

"But I can't just let anyone in. You need a password to get in."

"Okay..." Our companion adjusted his mask slightly. "So what's the password?"

"Do you really think he's that dumb?"

_Yes._

"Well, I can't just _give_ you the passwords." The fairy guard explained. "But I'm bored from standing around here all day, so here's what I'll do. We leave hints around the Market. Demons around here aren't that bright, y'see."

"All right. Let's go find those hints." I clapped.

"By the way, there are three passwords! Good luck!"

"_Three_? This ain't gonna be easy..." Kuni complained. I rolled my eyes.

"Then we split up. I'll search the middle of the market. You two can choose where you look."

_Meet you back here!_ Chibi called, dashing off with me. When I hit the message board, he kept running down to the start of the area.

Lo and behold, there was a password on the message board.

"A fool never changes." I read. "All right, that was... really easy. Well, better head back to the 'meeting point'."

On the way, there was another unexpected meeting.

"-times have I told you not to leave me high and dry like this? Business is terrible! Now take these cookies and _sell_ them, Hal!"

"R-right, Steve. Sorry, Steve."

The Green Imp turned around while his partner's back was turned, and seem to cheer up upon my prescence. He scampered over. "Oh! It's you!"

"Keep it down!" I hissed. "How'd you recognize me?"

"Not many people wear those clothes." Hal pointed out. "Oh, want some Orochi Scout Cookies? We got a new flavor in stock!"

"You're an Orochi Scout?" My eyes widened behind the cloth. He nodded.

"We're sort of... offshoots of the main troops. We tried to get some business going here, but it's not going too well. Just five hundred yen for a box!"

"... It's going to poison me, isn't it."

"Nonono, these are Dark Chip cookies!"

"Do every flavor of Orochi Scout Cookies end with 'chip'?"

"... We have Fire Cream."

"I don't even want to know."

We exchanged the money and box anyway.

"Thanks! I owe you one... again!" Hal continued cheerfully. "But... what's a human doing in the Demon Market?"

"To be honest? I don't even know. I'm just going with it." I shrugged. "Thanks for not raising any red flags."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do for you the next time we meet, okay?" He called after me. "We're friends, right? Right?"

As soon as I was a safe distance away, I facepalmed. "Yeesh, he's persistent."

"Who was that?"

"Kuni, get out of my face."

He got up again. "Seriously, who was that?"

"A psychopathic Imp." I shook my head. "I think he's stalking me. Want some cookies?"

"... No, thanks."

"Me either."

_Back!_ Chibi called, catching up. _What're the other two passwords?_

"A fool never changes."

"The Witch Queen Passes."

_And then Demon Market._ He finished. _All right, we're ready!_

And thus we approached the gatekeeper.

"You have all the passwords, right? Because I'd have to step on you if you didn't."

_He can step on us?_

"... Let's pretend we didn't hear that."

"So what's the first one, then?"

"Demon Market." Kuni replied promptly.

"And the second?"

"A fool never changes." I followed.

"The third is..."

_The Witch Queen Passes._

Kuni and I stared at each other.

"The Witch Queen passes." Kuni said quickly before I could.

"Jerk."

"So you really did know them!" The gatekeeper seemed pleased. "Now I won't have to step on you. Do you want to go in?"

"YES. YES, WE DO."

"All right, all right. You don't have to yell at me." The fairy moved aside. "Head on in."

So we did.

"What's going on?" Kuni asked two Imps standing in the way of the rest of the room.

"It's an arm wrestling tournament where the winner gets a mermaid!" One of the two announced excitedly.

… I don't understand demons.

_Why would they-this is SICK!_ _And WRONG!_ Chibi groaned, trying to get a better view. I tried to pet him assuringly without touching Kuni in the process.

"A mermaid?"

_Kuni, you are officially thick in the head._

"What? You don't know? Master Bullhead caught her, he did." The Imp gestured to the demon at the center of the room, smoking a pipe. "He sold her to the Witch Queen who runs the market."

"Maybe we should join in! I hear mermaid meat is delicious." His partner spoke up. The first Imp seemed to choke.

"You? Forget about it. You'll just get crushed."

"Yeeeeaaaah, you're probably right..."

"Mermaid... no way." Kuni muttered, obviously having the sense to look around the two whackos in front of us.

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on because _I can't see from back here!_" I hissed.

"They're talking about... Nanami."

"-Wait, _what?_"

"All right, the tournament is about to begin!" The MC announced, stepping forward. "All contestants, gather 'round!"

"No way we're letting any old demon take Nanami." I muttered. "Come _on_, you two, we have to _move_!"

"The prize is a mermaid!"

_We know, already!_

"She's mouth-watering in more ways than one!"

… Nobody comment.

Please.

Or you know what'll happen.

"A special treat for both the eyes and the palate!"

Currently, I was pondering how much trouble it would cause if I just hit the MC with Third Tempest.

"I-I got it, already." Kuni muttered when Chibi gave him his Look. "I-I... I'm the son of Susano. I won't just abandon Nanami!"

"That's nice, neither will we, now let's go, Country." I grabbed him by the arm and started draggig him forward. Chibi took the lead.

"Wait! I'm not mentally prepared for this yet!"

"You don't _have _to be mentally prepared!"

"Yes, I do!"

"No, you don't."

"So, are you three in or what?" The MC asked. I crossed my arms, finally letting go of Kuni.

"Course we are."

"Okay, then. Name?"

"Name? Uhhh..."

… Something told me this wasn't going to end well.

_Okay, Li. You wrote poetry roughly every other day for nine months straight. You can come up with a good name before Kuni can. You can do this. You can do thi-_

"-Kunimutt, it is!"

_KUNI I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU WHEN THIS IS OVER._

_… Li?_

I sighed. _Nothing, Chibi._

"All right, last call! Anyone else wanna participate?"

No one stepped up to the call.

We were in. For better or for worse.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_MUAHAHAHAHAHA SHORT CHAPTER AND CLIFFHANGE-_

Lilac: *smacks author with handle of Third Tempest*

_... T-T_

Originally, this was going to cover the entirety of the Demon Market, but we'll save that for next chapter.

So next chapter on Closer to the Rising Sun: _**Escape the Witch Queen's Wrath**__!_

**Chibi: Review!**

Lilac: ... I'm not even going to say anything.

Kuni: For once...

Nanami: *bangs on fishbowl with her fists* HELLO? RIGHT HERE!

Lilac: *covers ears* Sorry, can't hear you!


	10. Escape the Wrath of the Witch Queen!

_Welcome back, once again... to Chapter 10 of Closer to the Rising Sun!_

It's time for the tournament. The escape from the nefarious, scheming Witch Queen.

And, believe it or not, the boss of this plot arc.

... Okay, introducing the boss of this plot arc. Briefly. Whatever.

_On another note, I spent about twenty minutes on Okami last night running around in the second plot arc being a derp._

Being a derp equals spending ten minutes straight trying to abuse god powers and at least do SOME damage to Waka when he's technically being an NPC.

When that didn't work, a few hours later, I learned that you can set Rao on fire!

... Add Abuse of God Powers to my list of accomplishments. XD

So what are we waiting for? The chapter lies straight ahead.

Thanking the reviewers, of course.

_Thanks to **TheManWithBacon **(oh my god OCs standing up in my defense. What is the world coming to), **Sakuragami**, and **Spirits and Shadows**!_

_Here, have some Fire Cream cookies!  
_

_... oh wait-_

**Nanami: Senom299 owns nothing but her OCs!**

Lilac: ... *glares*

Nanami: What's wrong, Elza?

Kuni: *snickering in background*

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Welcome, demons, ogres, and imps... to the 29th annual Big Evil Power championship!"

"I cannot believe we're doing this." I muttered under my breath.

_For Nanami._

"Yeah, but still."

"Our first contestants are... The Green Paddlers versus the Kunimutt trio!" The MC announced. I resisted the urge to facepalm.

"The name still sucks, by the way."

"Let the first match... begin!"

"Well, there's no backing out of this now..." Kuni noted. I rolled my eyes as the fight started.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

Our first opponents? A trio of Green Imps.

"All right, split up!" Kuni instructed. "If we all take on- Li, I wasn't done."

I glanced up from using an Exorcism Slip and wiping out all three. "Whoops. My bad."

**Exiting Combat Mode**

"Whew... we won!"

"You didn't even _do _anything!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"..."

"What a powerful trio!" The MC declared. "Kunimutt and their pet beast are victorious!"

"... We are _not_ being collectively referred to as this. Because if so, I quit and I'm just going to run over there and break Nanami out myself."

"Are you ready for the next match?"

_Yep._

"Oh, whatever."

"Course we are!"

"The next challengers are the Hot Riders!"

I suddenly got an image in my head that we'd be fighting Imps riding those Hot Wheels toys.

Best. Mental image. Ever.

"Let the battle... begin!"

"We can do this, you two." Kuni assured, before pausing and glaring at me. "Li. Put it away."

"Put what away?" I asked innocently, Exorcism Slip already in my hand.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"I SAID PUT IT AWAY. DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT, LI, DON'T YOU D-"

"See? They're only _half_ dead." I waved a hand. "We can take them now."

_Yeah, and we'll be completely dead when you use all those up and we're left without any on some big fight._ Chibi grumbled.

"Sorry, okay? Come on. We can do this."

And so the battle against the Hot Riders ensued.

... It was actually fairly uneventful. I mean, we killed Imps. The usual routine. Wasn't much else to it.

**Exiting Combat Mode**

"This is easier than I thought. We might just have a shot at winning!"

"Because you know why?"

_Because you keep cheating._

"You're _nice_ about it, Chibi."

"What a fight, folks!" The MC exclaimed. "It's yet another win for the Kunimutt trio. Are you ready for the next match?"

"Yes. Yes, we are."

_Li, don't use the Exorcism this time._

"Awwww..."

"Next up, the Macho Air Raid Brothers!"

"... The _what?_"

"Let the battle begin!"

"Oooh... I hate the flying types." Kuni muttered. "Oh, well. Let's do this!"

**Initiating Combat Mode**

We stared at our new enemies for a moment as they hovered around, dropping bombs everywhere.

"Okay, change of plans." Kuni began slowly. "You can use the Exorcism."

"It would be my pleasure." I smirked and started spamming what we like to call the power of cheating.

_This is _so_ going to bite us in the behind later..._ Chibi muttered as the fight ended as quickly as it had started.

**Exiting Combat Mode**

"I had no idea you were so strong, Mutt! Good work out there!"

"NEITHER OF YOU EVEN DID ANYTHING."

"I see it but I don't believe it! Give it up for these three!" The MC gushed. "Are you ready for the next match?"

"Do we really have a choice?"

"And our next challenger... is back with a friend! The Green and Yellow Bombardiers! Let the match... begin!"

"I didn't even know that was a word."

_You learn something new every day..._

"We can do this!" Kuni pointed out again.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"Okay, we should at least handle the Green Imps without cheating." He snapped before I could get out an Exorcism Slip. "You hang back, Li. Mutt and I got this."

"Are you calling me useless?"

_No, he's saying you're _too _useful._ Chibi acknowledged, leaping forward to hit the Green Imp closest to him.

So I did just stand and watch...

... until one of those sneaky Yellow Imps dropped a bomb on me.

"ALL RIGHT THAT'S IT, GET DOWN HERE AND WE'LL SEE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO DROP BOMBS ON PEOPLE." I yelled, getting out Third Tempest and literally throwing it.

Good news: It hit its mark.

Bad news: It then proceeded to go right through, hit the wall, and stay there.

Where I couldn't get it.

... Is it just me or does this feel like some sort of continuity nod, specifically to PRS?

It was just made all the more confusing when Kuni _leapt onto the back of said Yellow Imp after it fell _and _rode it_ up there, pulled it out, and tossed it back down to me.

"Thanks!" I called up. "... You should probably get down from there!"

Chibi solved the problem by powerslashing the Imp and running to catch Kuni from his descent. _That's teamwork for you._

And magically the rest of the Imps were dead.

Well then.

**Exiting Combat Mode**

"We're a heckuva team!" Kuni cheered. "But... uh... don't you think we should take a rest soon?"

"We can rest when we're all out of here safe." I told him, putting Third Tempest back in its loop for the time being.

"Are you ready for the next match?"

"N-"

"YES."

"This is it, the grand finals! Who would've thought the trio would've made it this far?" The MC asked.

_Us._

"So says the one with sunglasses on his mask. Why didn't you just write 'swag' under them?"

_Hey, good idea!_

"But now they face... the king of all fighters! Your hero and mine... Hotter and redder than a thousand hells, it's Boss Hot Rider!"

"Thiiiiis may not end well." I noted slowly.

"You think?"

"Let the fight begin!"

"All right, just one more fight!" Kuni encouraged.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

And suddenly, we were fighting... a spinning top on fire with an eye on it.

"Well, this is... new?" I tried to be supportive. "Now how are we supposed to beat this thing?"

"Let's wait for the flames to die down and then attack." Kuni suggested.

_Got it._ Chibi started growling.

And thus, when our opponent finally stopped blazing for a moment, we started attacking.

By that, I mean Kuni and Chibi attacked, I got out the Exorcism Slips.

Don't they make everything so much easier?

**Exiting Combat Mode**

_That was anticlimactic_, Chibi muttered irritably.

"You're welcome!"

"Yeeeaaaah! We won! We won!"

"Ooookay, buddy, calm down." I rolled my eyes.

"And the winners are Kunimutt and their beast!" The MC announced. I resisted the urge to facepalm again. "The mermaid is yours to do whatever you want with!"

Nanami was visibly sweatdropping inside the fishbowl.

"Right, boss?"

The Witch Queen took a sip of what might have been coffee and blew out smoke through her mouth.

That... was scary.

"See? Even the boss congratulates you."

"A-anyway, we'll take the mermaid and be on our way." Kuni decided, trying to keep his cool and failing miserably.

"Of course! Enjoy yourself!"

And so we approached Nanami's prison.

_Has anyone thought about how we're supposed to move that thing out of here?_

"... that's actually a _really _good point."

Kuni apparently didn't care about this mechanic hole, and lifted the mask slightly once we were near the glass. "It's all right now."

Nanami apparently recognized him within the span of two seconds. "You...!"

"Okay, come on! We don't have any time to l-"

He was interrupted by Nanami letting out a shrill shriek. "Don't come any closer!"

"What the he.. ... I'm not even going to try." I groaned. "What is it?"

"I said, don't come any closer!"

"What? What's wrong?" Kuni asked, clueless.

"You _humans_-" She spat out the word like we were a disease, "-were the reason I was caught in the first place!"

"Huh?"

"A _human_ caught me and offered me up to a giant catfish!" There was a blaze in her eyes, something I really didn't want to be near if that blaze was directed at me.

... Oh. Wait.

"You were caught... who caught you?" Kuni asked.

"It was some kid wearing a hat that looked like rabbit ears."

"You mean some kid wearing a dead rabbit?"

"Rabbit ears? Hmm... must've been Kokari."

_Who?_

I held back laughter and the urge to highfive/paw Chibi.

"Humans only care about themselves, and couldn't care less about a lowly _mermaid's_ life!" Nanami continued, still looking rather irked. "I _hate_ humans! I hate them all!"

"Yeesh, racist, much?" I muttered.

Actually, that was my new name for her. Nanami the racist mermaid.

... Make that Nanami the racist _stalker_ mermaid.

"Well, that's great and all, but we can talk about that later." Kuni tried desperately.

"Yeah, right now we have to GTFO."

All three of the others stared at me.

"... get out of here."

Kuni and Chibi attempted to push the bowl, but it... sort of didn't do anything.

_I TOLD you!_

"Hey, don't blame me. Kuni was the one that didn't listen." I pointed out.

Speaking of Country, he'd managed to slip... and lose his mask.

"Awwwww no." He muttered.

"Great observation, Sherlock!" I snapped, turning around and grabbing Third Tempest from its loop. Our cover had been completely blown. _Thanks a lot, Country! Thanks. A. Lot._

The Witch Queen's eyes flashed red. "Whaaaaaat?" ... Well, she must not have been that bright. "Stop those three!"

"We're screwed." I muttered, extending the spearblade and spinning it twice. And then throwing the mask off, because for one, I had forgotten to stay to Kuni's left, and two, I did _not _need a mask randomly saying 'I'm With Stupid' and pointing at empty space.

Chibi also, if not a bit remorsefully, discarded his shades. _You think?_

To make matters all the better, the Witch Queen then decided to hop down in front of us.

"Well, if it isn't two humans and a dog!" She rasped. "So, you think you can just come waltzing in my market as you please, eh? Not on my watch!" Her eyes flashed red again. "I'll rip you to shreds!"

... Judging my the knives she was now holding, I believed every word of what she just said.

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Witchy/The Witch Queen! ... I literally can't come up with a more witty title. Suck it up.**

_Li, we still have some Exorcism Slips left over, right?_ Chibi yelled to me as she started charging and we split up.

"Yeah, we've still got five!"

"... How many did you _buy?_"

"More than you think, Country. More than you think."

_Use them, but don't just spam them. Got it?_

"Got it!" I saluted and turned back to the Witch Queen. "All right, Witchy, let's see what you've got!"

Apparently, she didn't appreciate being called Witchy, because, hopping around in a rotation, she charged straight for me.

"CRAP."

Chibi interrupted this act by attacking her from behind, stopping the onslaught dead in her tracks.

"How _dare _you attack me from the back!" She seethed.

"... I think we just made her madder." Kuni pointed out.

"Well, thanks a lot!" I yelled, rolling out of the way and coughing slightly before running to slash at her a few times myself. After this process, she jumped up and landed in the middle of the arena.

And then roared and made some switches out of nowhere.

"What's going on? What do we do?" Kuni panicked. I facepalmed.

_Well, we don't throw a hissy fit..._ Chibi muttered.

Meanwhile, Witchy was _eating her own minions _(The Fairy Board was right) and healing herself. Great.

"Hey, no fair! She's healing herself!"

"_We_ heal ourselves all the time."

"That's not the point! Demons aren't supposed to do that!"

"I've got a backup plan." I sighed, running onto a switch and pressing it down. "I'll stay here. You guys keep attacking!"

_You sure?_ Chibi asked. I waved around an Exorcism Slip.

"If you cover me, I'll try to cover myself."

"All right, let's do this!" Kuni declared, turning back to Witchy and charging. Chibi shook his head and ran after him.

The battle of epic proportions continued, me always running to the switch and keeping the fairies at bay and Chibi and Kuni taking on the actual fight. After a little while longer of this, _finally_, we seemed to defeat the Witch Queen.

"Boss!" A fairy yelled.

"After them! Hurry!"

"Where the hell did they come from?" I snapped, forgetting the no-swearing rule and not bothering to stop myself.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

We all backed into a sort of semicircle around Nanami's fishbowl.

"All right... we can... survive? I guess?" I suggested slowly.

Which cued a part of my brain to burst out singing _I want to survive, I want to survive, my heart shall persevere~_

_... BRAIN NOW IS NOT THE TIME._

_Sounds like a plan._ Chibi agreed, leaping at some fairies. Kuni valiantly waggled his sword around. I just hacked and slashed.

After a few minutes of this, it was pretty obvious that we weren't actually getting anywhere.

"Dang! No matter how many we take down, they just keep coming!" Country complained. I shot him a look.

"This is the _Demon_ Market. Obviously they're going to be infinite in numbers.

"Shut up."

While we were arguing, the Witch Queen had come back to her senses and slashed at us. The impact knocked us all to the ground, Chibi hitting the bowl so it rolled over and Nanami fell out.

And she just laid there.

Casual as could be.

... I have never hated that mermaid more.

Chibi got up and barked out something while I rolled over, muttering about stupid dirt existing to see Kuni somehow still upright. And still trying to fend off those demons.

"Mutt, Li! Take Nanami and go!" He instructed. "You don't need to worry about me!"

"Yes we do!"

"No, you _don't._"

I rolled my eyes and followed Chibi, who pulled Nanami onto his back.

"Hurry! Get out of here!"

"... Stay safe." I muttered, glancing back at him. "Don't you _dare _die."

And thus we _ran like hell._

"We have to get out of here!" Nanami cried out. "We can't let down that poor boy!"

"What do you think we're doing?" I snapped, running and trying to keep up with Chibi. "And by the way, I seriously hope you're rethinking that racist comment from back there!"

I thought I heard her mutter "I'm sorry", but it was lost to the escape. Then, "But, Elza... why would you care? You and Squiddy aren't human."

That would've stopped me dead in my tracks if we weren't being chased by demons.

"Wait, what do you mean, I'm not human?" I asked, glancing at her. The mermaid girl tilted her head, confused.

"You said you were a member of the People of the Storm. Remember?"

"Nanami, I don't even remember _meeting_ you."

And at the same time, the wheels were turning in my mind. I said I wasn't human...?

_Li, move unless you want to say hello to that wall!_

"OH CRAP!"

After that, there were no more mishaps until the dead end. Kuni also decided to catch up.

"You just ran away, didn't you?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"What do Kuni also decided to catch up.

"You just ran away, didn't you?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"What do _you_ think?" He asked sarcastically, doing the same.

And then the Witch Queen came after us.

"... Well, this is just fantastic!" I groaned, stepping back against the wall. "We're going to _die_!"

_Not so sure about that_. Chibi noted, glancing up. _Deus ex machina just arrived._

Apparently it had, in the form of a random fishing hook.

We all grabbed on (I'm not going to go into the details-it was three kids and a dog trying to hold on to one fishing hook. I mean, really.) and kept hold on the way up. I just smirked down at the Witch Queen.

"Sayonara, Witchy!"

A few moments later, we all fell on the grass about where we had jumped off into the Demon Market portal, Kokari was lying on the ground nearby, gasping for breath.

"I'm so glad everyone's all right! Madame Fawn told me that if I put my fishing pole down in that very spot, the mermaid would be saved!"

"Thanks for caring about the god of the sun and his partners," I muttered, barely able to speak. My heart was trying to pound its way out of my chest... with a sledgehammer.

Nanami obviously wasn't impressed. "Hey! This is the boy! This is the boy who caught me!"

_Nanami, there aren't any other kids we've met wearing a dead rabbit._ Chibi pointed out.

Kuni stood up. "Kokari... Why'd you try to sacrifice Nanami?"

_Because she's racist and a stalker._

_Li!_

What?

"... People who aren't happy with the way the forest is now told me to do it." He admitted. "I tried to stop them, but they told me to shut up because I'm a kid."

I knew that feeling...

"But I know that's no excuse for what I did." Kokari bowed his head down apologetically. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Nanami, once again, wasn't impressed. Huffing, she glared away. "It's too late to apologize! They practically had me on a plate ready to be served!"

"Come on, Nanami..." Country sighed. "Just forgive him already. Look, he even broke the fishing pole from his father to help us. He really treasured it."

This seemed to slightly tone down her mood. "A treasured fishing pole...?" She spotted the remains of it on the ground and finally, her attitude dissipated. "Oh... I'm sorry. You helped me and I didn't even say thank you..."

Kokari's eyes widened. "No, I'm the one that should apologize!"

While this was going on, I turned around to glance at the water and backed up. "Guys? That's all well and good, but there's something in the-"

Almost promptly, a giant and rather ugly catfish leapt out of the water, swallowed Kuni, and swam back to where he came from.

"... water..."

"Oh no!"

_No derr, Sherlock!_

"Squiddy, Elza, we have to go after him!" Nanami tried to push herself up off her sitting position and failed, since she was literally a fish out of water. "Not all humans are selfish, I guess. That little boy just taught me that. ... Come on, let's go! He helped me, so I'm going to help him!"

Chibi let her onto his back. There was a pretty pink light and lots of hearts.

... And one Lilac resisting the urge to smack her forehead before I realized that the base of my throat had suddenly grown extremely cold.

Usually this would call for a 'wtf' moment, but seeing as how my stopwatch was there...

I pulled it out and glanced at it, one eyebrow raised at the blue glow emanating from it. A small beam shot from the dial to... one of the islands in the forest?

I glanced back at Nanami and Chibi, the mermaid's expression full of shock and confusion and Chibi's of... all right, I honestly couldn't tell.

_Go._

"What-"

_Go, Li. We'll meet up with you at the Pagoda._

"... I'll see you there." I nodded as we split up. I broke into a running start, almost tripping several times and finally making it there. The beam dissipated, the light flickering and dying out.

"Hey, Li."

His voice was hoarse, tired, like he'd been in a fight. I whirled around to face my grandfather.

"Holy crap, Oni, are you okay? What's going on?"

"I don't have that much time." He managed to rasp out. There were cuts on what of his skin was visible, and one gash that went right through one gauntlet. I ground my teeth together slightly.

"The curse... You're disappearing, aren't you?"

He grinned weakly. "You're a smart kid, Li. I'm glad I got to see you before this happened.

"... Oh, for Ammy's sake, you can't leave me... not like this..." I threw my arms around him, starting to cry again. _Great._ "Why...? Why is this even happening?"

"Fate's working against us." Oni told me softly. "Li... promise me. Promise me that you'll keep fighting. Fight against fate if you have to."

"What about you?" I asked, pulling away and staring him in the eye, desperation escaping into my voice. "You're going to fight, right? ... _right?_"

"I will." He promised. The stopwatch started to glow faintly again, the ticking slowing to a crawl in time. "Love you, flower girl."

"I love you, too." I whispered, feeling my voice crack.

"Keep shaking the universe." My grandfather held onto my hand, form flickering in and out of reality. "Promise?"

"Promise." I tried to smile, but it was lost when a flurry of black squares stole the moment away.

The moment, and any hope in me.

I just stared up at the sky and finally collapsed on my knees, sobbing.

"I believe in you." I choked out. "I believe in... in all of you."

... a lot of good that would do, when I didn't believe in myself.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_That's all well and good, Li. Hate to be the moment killer, but get up, you've got a dungeon to tackle with Nanami and Chibi. C'mon, time to save Country. *claps*_

Here ends the tenth chapter that I worked until... *checks clock* 12:38 AM at the time of typing this, trying to get done.

I don't know if it matters to anyone, but I was listening to May'n and Megumi singing Diamond Crevasse live-a very, very depressing and heartbreaking version-while writing the goodbye scene. Yes, it was written to fit a love story, but it still fits in its own way.

_Just throwing that out there._

_Ah, crap, before I forget again (had to reupload the chapter document to note this), if you haven't already, make sure to go bother Lilac on her ask account on deviantART! Ask-Lilac. Nothin' special. _

_She needs more questions, she's lonely._

Lilac: ... suuuuuuure...

Next time on Closer: Chapter 11: **We Know a Catfish When We See One.**

_See you all then._

**Witch Queen: Review. Or else.**

Lilac: ... I'm not even in the mood to comment.

Nanami: *inches away*


	11. We Know a Catfish When We See One

_Welcome to Chapter 11, everyone!_

Iiiiit's everyone's favorite time of story... dungeon time!

And by dungeon time, I mean dungeon time for Lilac. It's 'take too long to update story oh my god' time for me.

_Sorry about that, by the way._

_To the reviewers we go! Thanks to **Daughter of Kabegami **(Hellouwwww new reviewer!), **Spirits and Shadows, **and **TheManWithBacon **for your reviews!_

_I would now like to remind you all that I am not to be held responsible for any injuries sustained by products advertised in the story._

**TheManWithBacon**, stay away from those cookies. We've warned you about those.

**Chibi: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den and only owns her OCs!**

Lilac: Unfortunately.

0-0-0-0-0

After heading to the Pagoda to meet Chibi and Nanami, I discovered that they'd already headed in.

"Aww, that is just _cheap_." I muttered, running down the stairway leading in and almost tripping. Chibi glanced up, looking particularly overjoyed.

_Hey, Li! Got another brush power!_

"... How long was I gone?"

All right, so it _might_ have been true that I just sat there on the island for about ten minutes before finally running to catch up, but in my defense, I was upset. Okay?

Nanami shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. What happened back there?"

I took a sharp breath and shook my head. "Sorry. Don't really feel like talking about it."

Chibi stared at me with that look of his before somehow shrugging. _Let's keep moving. We have to save Kuni._

"Yeah... we do."

As we headed into the next room, we were greeted with a... not that pleasant surprise.

A familiar Red Imp had apparently set up shop next to the Origin Mirror. "Even a demon like me's gotta make a living," He declared when we approached him. And obviously his attention was on Nanami, because the next thing out of his mouth was "I'd even sell off my arm to a fishy human like you if you had the coin on you."

"Err... thanks? I guess?" Nanami raised an eyebrow.

_We're running low on Exorcisms. _Chibi gave me a pointed look, then thought a moment. _Maybe some Holy Bones wouldn't hurt either..._

"Then we'll split the cost. I'll cover the Exorcisms since I'm the only one who uses the-" I paused a moment. "_Guys. Guys this is beautiful._"

"What?" Nanami asked, raising an eyebrow. I held up the Fire Exorcism, trying to keep a straight face.

"Can we can we can we?" I looked at Chibi hopefully. He let out a sigh.

_Well, you're the one paying for them..._

"Chibi, I love you." I announced, getting out what yen I had and forking over enough for three Fire Exorcisms. And one Holy Bone while Chibi and Nanami weren't looking.

Even though Chibi got roughly seven and proceeded to gnaw on one as we walked away.

"You know, that Imp seemed familiar." I noted thoughtfully. "I think I saw him in the Demon Market."

"Imps are all alike. _Demons _are all alike." Nanami pointed out.

"Yeah... true." I muttered, not bothering to bring up Hal.

And then, oh, look! A nice, big, unappreciated pool in the room!

Curse you, inability to swim. One of these days, I'll conquer you yet.

Nanami swam across and hit a switch, causing a bridge to appear. I silently praised her and headed across with Chibi.

A few rooms, uncreative writing, and one unconscious author later, we arrived in a room with a statue that was... missing three arms?

_That's not something you see every day._

And no, that wasn't Chibi.

_Mimiru!_ It took every ounce of self-restraint in me not to scream or swear out loud, and I tried to keep up with Chibi and Nanami's conversations while dealing with the entity in my head at the same time. _The hell have you been?_

_I'm not _required_, neither do I _want _to talk to you all hours of the day. _She sounded as bored as usual. _But I have been keeping tabs on things. I'm _so_ sorry about your grandfather, by the way._

I clenched my hands into fists. _Sorry, my foot. You're the one to blame for his disappearing in the first place!_

_Mmhmm. Let's play the blame game. Better idea: You suck it up. Life's one big test, and from this standpoint you've already failed. Don't write down any more answers without thinking it through first, Lilac._

_Yeah, yeah, whatever._ I sighed, trying to get my emotions in order, right when Nanami started snapping her fingers in my face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine!" I nodded, coming back to reality. "Just fine. Just spaced out for a bit."

"All right..."

The dungeon was then promptly interrupted by the greatest fiend of them all...

... a montage.

"REALLY?"

"Shut up and help me speedrun this area so I can get the chapter up sometime in the next century."

**0-0-0-0-0**

"What's an arm doing in a treasure chest?"

"Better question: Why is there a statue with six arms? I thought we were in _Japan_, not _Egypt_!"

_... what?_

"Never mind."

"... well, looks like Nanami's trapped."

"_HELP ME!_"

"Trapped."

_Li-_

"Forever."

"That's not very nice of you!"

"I'm not a nice person in genera-just kidding, sheesh. Chibi, when'd you get a new weapon?"

_I... don't know, actually. Did we skip it?_

"_Thank _you for saving me."

"Something tells me you're going to save us from certain death later, so we'll be even."

"When'd you become such a _jerk_, Elza?"

"Better question being why do you keep calling me that?"

_Guys, I can't remember how to draw the faces on this statue!_

"... Seriously?"

All in all, the dungeon went by without too much trouble, and fit on one side of a notebook page. All because of uncreative writing.

Moving on.

"Ugh, it smells like my aunt's aquarium in here." I muttered. Claus and I had generally enjoyed the early childhood spent with Lily before we had to stay with our divorced father's sister.

... then again, it hadn't worked out because of cat allergies.

Childhood reminiscing aside.

"Be careful, Squiddy!" Nanami instructed. "He's close!"

... So we should've seen it coming when he popped up behind us and shot an electric bolt.

"WHY did he have to be a water and electric type?" I snapped, jumping out of the way. At least electricity makes a sound.

And then we came face to face with the ugly thing itself.

_Well. There he is._ Chibi noted dully.

"Nu-ha-ha-ha! You're here!"

"What kind of evil laugh is that supposed to be?"

_It's worse than Kuni's usual one. And that's saying something._

"I'll take your word for it."

"I must commend you for being able to follow me this far." The demon fish continued talking. "

"This is the end of the line for you, giant catfish!" Nanami snapped, leaning forward with that usual blaze in her eye.

"I am no catfish!" Bullhead (who had apparently been introduced in these last few lines) snapped back indignantly. "I'm a _carp!_"

We all stared. If anyone was paying attention, some red lines and an arrow appeared on the screen. There was also a faint 'ding' in the background.

"... Why are you looking at me like I'm a catfish or something?"

"Because as far as I can tell, you _are_ a catfish." Nanami replied, sweatdropping.

"Gotta agree with her there." I pointed out.

"N-no! This is just the disguise I wear to hide in this world!"

_Uhhh-huh..._

"I'm really a carp! And soon I will become a dragon!"

And he unleashed his horrific laugh again.

"I don't have time to sit here and listen to your stories!" Nanami groaned, just as exasperated as Chibi and I. "Give that boy back right this instant!"

"You _really _think he's going to listen to you." I deadpanned.

Rule number one of all self inserts: You will ALWAYS, without a doubt, be ignored.

"That, I cannot do." Bullhead remarked. "Because that little twerp is inside my belly."

_What motive did you even have for eating him in the first place? _Chibi tilted his head.

"Don't question demons. They never _have _a motive."

... I was wrong on so many levels.

"N-no! I don't believe you!"

"Why don't you slice my belly open and have a peek inside?" The catfish taunted. "Of course, that would be impossible for you."

_Wanna bet?_ Chibi raised his tail threateningly.

"You know why? Because I have the Wet Jewel and the Dry Jewel!" Our mermaid companion's expression slowly twisted into one of fury. She had fury. And a lot of it. "And with these in my possession, I'm unstoppa-"

"So it was _you _who stole my treasures!" She raged. Chibi winced and I inched away. "Those are very special to me. They were given to me by Otohime. _Give them back!_"

"This is why I'm glad she's on our team." I whispered.

_Yep._

"In the end, all of us must give up something..." Bullhead trailed off. "Now it's time for you to give up your lives!"

"Fat chance." I took Black Rose out of its loop and was interrupted by the battle tradition.

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Catfish/Carp?/Brain Damaged Fishy Thing Bullhead**

"One of these days, I'll take my job of yelling it out loud back," I muttered, standing technically back-to-side with Chibi.

Close enough to back-to-back.

_That's nice, now how do we fight this thing?_

I paused, glancing up at a Konohana Blossom only Chibi and Nanami could dodge attacks with. "That... is a very good question."

"Squiddy!" Nanami cried in alarm as Bullhead jumped out of the water. Chibi just flicked his tail.

_Li, duck!_

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I crouched down, wincing as the catfish passed over my head. "Bad childhood memories, oh god this is worse than clowns..."

_That's... one interesting circus trip._

_Shut up and stop flipping through my memories, Mimiru! _I panicked as Chibi and Nanami came back down. "Are we just going to repeat this the whole fight?"

_Yup._ Chibi nodded, flicking his tail again and hooking Bullhead to the Konohana Blossom. _... Hey, do we have any Steel Fist Sake?_

"Squiddy! We're _underage_!" Nanami reprimanded.

"Yeah, and he's a god." I fished out the flask with one hand, spearblade occupying the other. "I would try my Exorcism F, which is shiny and powerful and beautiful by the way, but... he's a fish. That wouldn't work."

Nanami started giving us the silent treatment and continued to do so for the rest of the fight.

"... Well _fine!_"

And so the battle continued in a wash-rinse-repeat fashion.

_Oh, good, no witty banter this time._ Chibi telepathically sighed with relief.

"Is he dead now?" I asked, slightly exasperated. Answering my question halfway, Kuni pushed his way out.

"... Oookay, that's disgusting." I muttered, referring to the digestive juices covering his body.

_Hey, least he wasn't dead._

"You're okay!" Nanami exclaimed. Chibi barked a few times, just as overjoyed.

And of course even when looking like he seriously needed to be dragged to Sasa Bathhouse, he didn't change. At all.

"The son of the heroic Susano is not going down without a fight!"

"So does that mean I _can't_ find some way to Taka Pass and drag you to Sasa Bathhouse? Because that is seriously my plan right now."

He ignored me. Typical. "I even brought these back from the belly of that big catfish!" He produced a purple and pink jewel, promptly reminding me that I had someone to be _not _thinking of.

"Oh! The Wet Jewel and Dry Jewel! Thank you!" Nanami took them back and beamed. "I've been looking for these! Now I can finally go back to the sea!"

As if interrupting the scene on purpose, the Pagoda started shaking and Bullhead reemerged. Chibi, being the smart cutscene-logic-defying god he was, flicked his tail and up on the hovering Konohana Blossom we all went.

"Taking the jewels from me only takes away my control over water." The catfish claimed. "But don't think you've won! You shall see my true strength!"

"His breath smells like Kuni." I muttered, wincing. "No, I take that back. Kuni, you smell like his breath. I can't decide which one's worse right now."

"Do I look like I can do anything about it?"

"..."

"Sheesh! He just won't shut up!" Nanami rolled her eyes. "Now that I have the Dry Jewel back, I can dry up the water."

And she did.

Bullhead flopped around on the ground, obviously still trying to survive.

"He just doesn't quit!" Kuni groaned.

"Like you."

"Shut it."

"Nanami, Li, stay here!" He instructed, apparently having a plan. "Mutt and I will handle it from here!"

"Yeah, because the girls are useless." I growled under my breath.

And nonetheless, we watched them carry said plan out.

Nanami and I watched the spectacle and I turned to her. "... so are you talking to me again?"

"Right, it was only temporary."

"Good."

That seemed to be enough time for Chibi and Kuni to Powerslash/wooden-sword-slash Bullhead a few times and-hopefully finally-shut him up. Chibi, cheered greatly by this, let out a howl.

And it was glorious.

Meanwhile, I was counting our spoils.

"Five thousand yen? Cheap." I muttered.

"At least we got money!"

"It was a catfish, yeah, but it was one of those bigger demons. We have GOT to get more money than this."

"Li..." Directly after, Nanami seemed to have a mood face-heel-turn and jumped off the flower. "He's done for good now! That was amazing, you two!"

I facepalmed and fell after her.

"-There's no enemy too big that Mutt and I can't handle 'em!" Kuni cheered as soon as I fell. After I was screaming the whole way.

"Ow, twisted ankle, ow, that's going to leave a bruise, ow, crap, ow..."

"_Nyaaarghhhh!_" A familiar annoying voice groaned. "I'm not through with you!"

_Why can't he have a heart attack or something already?_ Chibi complained irritably.

"That's what I'm wondering."

"I may never become a dragon, but you'll never leave here alive!" Bullhead declared. "My final act is to sentence you to your eternal doom!"

As soon as he hit the switch, tremors wrecked through the Pagoda and a panel in the wall opened. The water that Nanami had dried up obviously hadn't been the majority of the water in the building, because it looked like at least that much was flooding in now.

"Is anyone else thinking the best thing to do right now is _run_?" Kuni asked as another panel opened, leading out to the lake.

"Where are we supposed to _run_ to?" I snapped just as Nanami yelled "We won't make it out fast enough!"

_So we just let the water carry us out and hope for the best?_ Chibi tried hopelessly.

"... That's our only option." I pointed out, still trying to keep my balance. "Anyone ready to drown to a horrible death?"

Everyone glared at me.

"What. I'm a pessimist by nature, I had to say it."

The water came in a rush at everyone's ankles (or in Nanami's case, since she was half lying down and couldn't really stand, around her stomach) and rose steadily from there.

"Is the water supposed to be coming in this slowly?" Kuni yelled, trying to make himself heard over the crashing around us.

"Don't jinx us!" Nanami yelled back. I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Chibi. He just gave me a steady stare.

_Ready?_

Nope. I tried to grin at him as the water started rising more quickly, coming up over my knees.

_-Wait a second. Crap, I'm wearing a _skirt_!_

"Hey, Kuni! Look!" I yelled. "There are rainbows everywhere!"

"No, there's not..." Nanami muttered, closer to me than he was.

"Shhh, don't tell him that. Just make sure he's not looking at me, I'm wearing a skirt."

"Oh."

I rolled my eyes and then lost my balance as the water level continued to rise. "Crap crap crap this is not g-"

The words were cut off by it going even higher and I decided to shut my mouth.

Besides, who knew what'd been in that water. Aside from Bullhead.

As everyone else went under, Nanami obviously had a plan. "Everyone just go with the waves and get out as fast as you can! Break the surface if you think you can make it."

No one actually replied. I just decided to give up control and take her advice, letting the rushing flow carry my body out into the open.

_Okay. Ascend, ascend, float, crap I failed swimming lessons anyway and I might as well be a rock._

This thought process was interrupted with reading somewhere that _if Issun were any more dense, he'd be a rock._

I hate my thought process sometimes.

So now in addition to trying not to laugh, my lungs felt like they were about to explode. I shut my eyes, deciding this might not be such a bad way to go.

And Mimiru would win.

_You don't give up that easily. It's... not like you, Li._

I didn't open my eyes, not even when a hand took hold of my wrist and we started ascending.

_We're friends... right?  
_

The burning sensation faded away and I opened my eyes again, feeling my head breaking the surface. Nanami was still holding on, smiling a bit grimly.

"You okay, Elza?"

"I'm alive now." I shook my head, trying to take in oxygen. "Thanks. Where are-"

"Up ahead. I can't see what happened to them anywhere, but I feel their life forces in the water." She concentrated for a moment. "... They've been split apart."

I bit my lip. "That's... not good."

"Come on. If you two can hang on for a bit longer, I'll get you and Squiddy to Ryoshima Coast. Kuni's further away, so I don't think I can catch up."

"He'll be fine." I tried to convince myself as much as her. "It's the stubborn ones like him that don't die."

The mermaid girl forced a laugh as my eyes started flickering. Fatigue was starting to win out...

_We're friends._

Aren't we?

**0-0-0-0-0**

Half the country away from that spot, a woman stared out from her position on Watcher's Cape. The wind suddenly changed direction, a storm brewing on the horizon.

Her hand clenched into a fist, only three words passing through her lips. Almost like a winter breeze, they lingered in the air over Ryoshima Coast and then faded away.

The land that her people had once ruled, and now she had even lost as a home.

"I'll find you."

And thus, the wanderer of time continued her endless search.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_I am very well aware that this was a sort-of short chapter and I could've done a lot better, especially considering the timeframe I used up to write the stupid thing. _

_But this chapter gave me some serious trouble, and I have no clue why. I had to cut out a scene and save some of the Bullhead scene dialogue to write until last, the like. _

_I am also VERY annoyed._

Anyway, on a lighter note, next chapter starts the second plot arc! We're a third of the way through the story, folks.  


_... That's the good news._

The BAD news is, I start the new school year next week. Yeah, yeah, it's because we ended early and start early. Anyway, with that, I'm working on a different project (Everyone's Heroes, a different fanfiction series that's deviantART only) and won't have as much time for ALBN. So updates will slow down considerably.

Now, fear not: I'm planning on finishing this volume on the day of December 11th, or possibly a while before to do something else to celebrate that day.

I believe we all know what that day is. And if you don't, shame on you.

_So I will work on ALBN and try to get out chapters along with EH. In fact, I'll try to update ALBN more often than EH. Mostly because ALBN's been around a year and ten days longer than EH, and screw spoiling the younger child._

_Before the point in time that school starts, I'll see how much of ALBN I get done. Depending on how many chapters I have finished by next Wednesday, I might put up one or two before then and if I go on writing high, I'll save some chapters and get an update schedule established._

Because no one can write when you have homework and choir and drama club and whatever other demons I decide to deal with this year to deal with.

_Lilac: And I get to spend the whole year with her._

Shoosh. Just do what Celia does and sleep.

_Next chapter of Closer: _**Going in Circles!**

**Kuni: I'm doing a review request and _she _isn't stopping me!**

Lilac: *sticks tongue out and then gets out script* Actually, according to _Senom_, the defeated boss rule applies.

Kuni: WHAT!

Senom: Rules are rules, Country.

Bullhead: Review! Nuhahahaha!

**Lilac: ... someone get him out of here before I murder him again. This time via gutting. *runs hand over spearblade***

Tsuki: *pulls a cord and watches catfish fall through the floor, giggles* Bye bye~!


	12. Furniture is Being Mean to Me!

_Welcome to Closer to the Rising Sun, Chapter 12, and Plot Arc number TWO!  
_

_Two thirds of the story to go, and two full stories after that._

_Sorry this chapter came out- well, actually, the last chapter was only a little over a week ago. I'm going to try to keep it to a chapter every week from now on, like I might or might not have said in the last chapter._

_Funny thing is, I only really got going with this one today DURING SCHOOL. Weird how that works. Anyway, I'll hopefully have plenty of "I'm bored it's writing time suckers" moments throughout the year._

_Thanks to **Daughter of Kabegami, Okami Saphira, TheManWithBacon, The River Flows, **and **Spirits and Shadows **for the reviews!_

_Take it away, disclaimer!_

**Chibi: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den, which is/are/whatever owned by Clover and Capcom!**

**Lilac: ... So Chibi's our official disclaimer?**

Senom: Eeeyup.

0-0-0-0-0

_"And there I was thinking you were in the lead earlier."_

"Agh! Someone shut him UP!"

"Hundred years' karma, Lily."

"Oh, I'm sorry for being a GHOST and having absolutely nothing better to do than come bother you! You don't think I wanted something else to do with all that time on my hands? So much for 'rest in peace'."

"I hate to be the one saying this, being goddess of all that is good and all, but will you please be quiet for at least two seconds?"

"..."

"Yeah, that's right, you tell him, Ammy."

"Wait, so you're suddenly blind? How long have I been gone?"

"... Prophet, get your hand out of my face. _Thank you. Where have you _been_?!"_

"Aww, thanks for the warm welcome, flower girl!"

"... I take it back. Why are you even here."

"Long story. ... so you all got driven back after all?"

"They set a fire barricade."

"Smart demons? All right then, we really are due for another apocalyptic event!"

"Someone hasn't changed."

"... Lily, how'd you put up with him."

"... I didn't."

"I'm hurt."

"You should be."

"You should've asked how I dealt with them._"_

"Sorry. ... Ready to make this more than a one-sided war, everyone?"

"After we get out of the cave?"

"Shut. Up."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Ryoshima Coast was completely and utterly silent. The curse on the lands still lingered, but a few dreary storm clouds blew in from the south._

_"Welcome back to your homeland."_

_Slowly, the world came into focus, but remained slightly blurred. Rain was coming down in a gentle shower, like it was spring and the world wanted to be at peace even when storms came._

_"What's the matter, Frostbite? No place like home, remember?"_

There was a noise like someone snapping their fingers.

_"Hey, Emil. Screw off, okay?"_

"Who knew? You're alive after all. Thought I'd frozen your heart or something. Oh, wait-you don't have one."

_"Keep it up with the demon jokes and we'll see who's laughing."_

_The perspective switched from a sort of blurry first-person to a monochrome outside speculation. A girl that looked suspiciously like the younger Sayuri I'd spoken to before crossed her arms, glaring at a hovering blue glow._

"Home... yeah, right."

_The scene faded and focused again on... Watcher's Cape?_

Sayuri stood as I'd seen her every other time, arms outstretched and heels just inches away from the edge.  


_"You want to kill me because of a curse I just happened to escape?"_

There was nothing but the wind picking up in speed. Tears started to drag down her face, words choked out more than spoken.

_"You want both of us to suffer because you're too blind to realize we were all on the run from something?"_

A click resounded. And another. Still, she held firm.  


_"I've come this far because I'm fighting to **survive**, Ryou! TRY TELLING ME YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HAVING SOMETHING TO FIGHT FOR!_

_"And... if I really am the only thing standing in the way of what you think is a perfect world... I won't stop you now."  
_

_Suddenly, time sped forward and all that was shown was a hole in her chest, blood seeping downward. All Sayuri did was smile, weakly._

"You were a fool."

"You're wrong." She said softly, bringing one hand up to the wound and reaching out with the other. "We were all fools for trying to survive... in a world where..."

The next words were halted by a series of coughs and the girl, woman now, stumbling backwards... just barely still above the edge. 

_"... where all that's waiting for us is a repeating cycle of tragedy."_

The wind continued to pick up in pace and, with two defiant yells at once, another shot resounded. This one did its job, the impact finally throwing her over the edge.  


_"I'm sorry... that I was the most foolish of all of us just for believing."_

**0-0-0-0-0**

The mists of dreams parted, and all I felt was someone shaking my arm. Groggily, I came back to myself and looked up into Nanami's face.

"I have to go." She said gently. "I got you two all the way to Ryoshima Coast..."

"Two?" I glanced back at Chibi, who was soaked and unconscious, breaths coming out ragged and blowing up tiny bits of sand. "Where's-"

One look at the expression on her face told me everything.

"... oh."

"He's not dead. I could feel his life force somewhere in the water." The mermaid girl reassured, trying to make some sort of light of things. "But... I couldn't catch up. Sorry, Elza. ... And Squiddy, too."

"He'll be fine." I laid a hand on Chibi's fur, ruffling it slightly. "It's the stubborn ones that never die."

"Yeah, that's true." Nanami managed a weak smile, then her expression turned grave again. "You two are going to search for him, aren't you?"

"Knowing Chibi? He'll say _come on, we have to go find him right now _right away." I shrugged. "So, pretty much, I guess that's our new objective."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

There was a brief awkward silence and I finally held out a hand. "Hey, Nanami? Thanks. For everything."

"I should be thanking you two!" She countered, shaking her head. "I would say three, but..."

"I'll tell him if we find him."

Nanami shook her head. "_When_. _When _you find him."

"When we find him."

She shook my hand, then turned back to the water. "Well... I should be getting back now. You two should stay safe, okay?"

"Fighting demons is an hourly affair. We're perfectly safe," I called after her as she leapt into the ocean. Directly afterward, I fell back onto the sand and let my eyes fall shut.

_Great. Near death experiences make you exhausted even after passing out. I have to remember that._

Distantly, I could still hear Nanami talking.

"... You two might not remember it, but... we did meet once, before you know."

The waves almost blocked out her voice, as if she was deliberately getting quieter. Then-

"Good luck, you two! And don't forget me again!"

That put an end to any concept of rest, because Chibi jumped to his feet right about then and started dragging his paws over my arms to try and get me back up.

_Come on, Li! We have to go find Kuni right now or it'll be too late, and-_

"Chibi."

_What?_

"Can you stop clawing at my arms?"

_Oh. Yeah. Sure._

I had to hold back a laugh as we finally started making plans to move forward. "All right, so Ryoshima Coast is cursed."

_Noticed._

"You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm. Meanwhile, how about we deal with that first, then search the city for him?" I paused, drawing a horrible attempt at a map in the sand. "If he's anywhere on this coast, the best place to start _should _be Sei-An. Being the capital city and all, if he's lost and has _some _common sense, he'll try to go straight there."

_... Li? Is that blob thing supposed to be... um... it looks like a..._

"..."

_... I think it's a frog? What do frogs have to do with all this?_

I resisted the urge to stick my face in the sand and change my last name to Ostrich.

"... Let's just make this up as we go along." I drove my hand through the sand a few times, wiping away the butchered images. "First things first, let's get the coast back to normal. The Guardian Sapling should be... that way?"

_... You don't know where you're going, do you._

"Yeeaaaaa-nope."

**0-0-0-0-0**

"There was absolutely _no _flaw in this plan!" I announced, marching forward. Hey, the area was still cursed and the only organisms to see were demons and Chibi. Not like I cared about my 'reputation' anymore. "Nope! None at all~!"

_Hey. Li. Watch out for that tree._

Two seconds later, I rubbed my forehead and glared back at him. "Thanks."

_You're welcome. _Chibi grinned back at me.

_You really _are _impressionable. _I imagined Mimiru shaking her head shamefully. Oh, right, she could technically see, too. _Haven't you noticed that he's grown up a little bit over the past few days?_

_... Yeah, now that you mention it._ I tried to get a better look at the little god, which caused him to use Waterspout. With the target being my eye.

"Hey-!"

_What's the matter? You're looking at me all weird._

"I'm not-!"

We continued down the path that certainly couldn't lead us straight to the Guardian Sapling, nope, not at all. Mimiru and I continued our conversation. _What's your point?_

You're rubbing off on him. That's why I told you to stop swearing-you and the other two 'partners' are older, so naturally he looks to you for guidance on how to act.

Kuni is not _your standard run-of-the-mill role model, Mimiru._

_... Within reasonable margins._

With that, there was an explosion and a bombed wall. _Coming?_ Chibi asked, turning back to look at me. I rolled my eyes and trailed on forward behind him. Mimiru just laughed.

_Within reasonable margins, sure as sure._

_Shut up, Mimiru._

We continued up through the cave-tunnel-lake-whatever-it-was. Several Waterspouts and one Guardian Sapling later, we had a moment that I seriously have to rename because of technical issues.

You all know the one.

The _Okamiden ain't got shit on this_ moment?

It needs to be renamed.

Because guess what?

_This _is_ Okamiden._

Meanwhile, Mimiru denies being the speaker of that statement. You all know it wasn't Chibi, anyway.

_There's another one cleared! _The little god declared cheerfully, staring out over the cliff. _Isn't it great here? I've never seen a beach before._

"Can't agree with you there." I smirked and jumped off one of the cliffs down to a lower level.

_Huh? Why?_

"For me, it's nothing special. I've lived just a little ways off a beach for most of my life." I just shrugged as he caught up.

_But it should be special! It's just like coming home, right?_

His answer was a glare.

_... Or not..._

"Let's just keep going. You want to find Kuni as soon as possible, right?"

_Duh._

"Our best bet _should _be the capital." I thought for a moment. "Yeah, that's definitely a good idea. If he's got any sense and washes ashore on this coast, that should be his destination too."

_So we'll find him there?_

"... Probably."

_That's not a straight answer._

"Do I look like I'm tracking his every move or something?"

Chibi didn't say anything. _So... what's the capital like?_

_Lying time! _"Dunno."

_... yes, you do._

"No, I'm serious." I decided to leave gameplay out of the scenario just for Chibi's safety and in case no one told him. "There was a... health problem, I guess. I didn't see much before having to turn around and leave again."

_So it'll sort of be like a first time experience for the both of us?_ He tilted his head.

"I guess..."

_Then it should be fun! _The wolf pup's expression brightened. I sweatdropped.

"I guess we can sightsee or something... Wait, no! The evil in Nippon's all coming from Ryoshima Coast, isn't it?"

_Yeah, that's what Sakuya said._ Chibi pouted. _So no sightseeing?  
_

"We can sightsee while we're beating up demons. Come on, let's go to the capital and see what's wrong with them this time."

_Why would something strictly be wrong there?_

"Well, let me think, there were _several _problems last time I was in the area." I shrugged as we kept walking down the path. "Just watch, this time we'll be dealing with demons possessing giant kabuki dolls or some angry higher-up's ghost is going to be out for revenge on the human race."

_Don't jinx us._

"Don't be silly, Chibi, I'm just kidding."

**0-0-0-0-0**

Another while of walking later, we arrived at the capital gates and there was a _serious _problem.

"I would _love _to know why the sky here is still magenta." I pointed out as we entered the city.

_Li. That's purple.  
_

"No, I'm pretty sure it's magen-"

_Purple. Are you color blind?_

"Apparently I am, because I'm seeing magenta!"

_Yeah, that's definitely purple._

I rolled my eyes and kept walking. "Well, no one's bending over moaning in pain, so I'm guessing everything is well except for global warming or something."

_Global whatnow?_

"Nothing." I took another look at the sky. "Actually, I think it's indigo."

_Okay, indigo is not even CLOSE to magenta._

"Yes, it is."

_It's got blue and violet separating them!  
_

"Which is a grand total of two colors. I say indigo."

_Purple-_

"Indigo~"

_Liiiii._

After a few more stupid suggestions out of both of us just for kicks and giggles, Chibi finally whacked me with Divine Retribution and we set out to search for whatever was wrong with the city.

... And Country, because I'm not allowed by both contract and possible threats from my partner to forget him.

_So... where do you think we should start?_

"I'm not a travel manager! Do I look like a _tour guide _to you?!"

The young god shot me a wolf-grin. _You should be._

I stuck my tongue out back at him just as a shriek cut through the air from the direction of the bridge leading across the canal. We glanced at each other for a moment.

"-I didn't do it."

Chibi rolled his eyes and sprinted off to the bridge.

_Oh, look. More Steves. _Mimiru noted dully.

_So they're officially ALL Steve now?_

_As a matter of fact, yes._

I tried my best not to facepalm as Chibi leapt forward. "Hey, wait a minute, we're finishing this up as soon as we can! Don't you try to leave me out of this fight!"

**Initiating Combat Mode**

I reached for Third Tempest and abruptly swore. "Oh, you are _kidding _me."

_What's wrong?_

"The ONE time I want to try and fight without cheating, the stupid thing's GONE."

_Maybe it disappeared while we were getting washed out of the Pagoda. _He gave me a sympathetic look. _Hey, since I've got two weapons, you can borrow one._

"What about the sub-weapon main-weapon thing?"

_Oh, who _cares _about that? Here. _And Divine Retribution suddenly turned into a bracelet, Chibi's glaive replacing it. _Use the reflector. GO!_

I grabbed the reflector and then proceeded to bash some Imps over the head with it.

And that is basically all that happened.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

I shook out my wrist a few times, wincing. "Still like the spearblade better."

_Deal with it._

"Well, that's mea-"

"Hey, you!"

_Turn around. _Mimiru instructed.

I resisted the urge to facepalm and did so. The girl glaring at both of us obviously was not impressed with the fact that we just saved her life.

"If you're going to save me, then get over here and _do _it!" She snapped.

_Technically, we just did... _Chibi sweatdropped.

"Were you _scared? _Is that why you hesitated?"

"You were scared too, weren't you?" I raised an eyebrow. _Hypocrite._

"Of course not!" She came over to us and then did a double-take at Chibi. "Those are some pretty gaudy markings you have there."

_Gaudy?! _Chibi sputtered, then stopped. _Wait, what's that mean?_

The girl started to lose some of her temper and started petting him. "I bet all the other dogs pick on you for being different."

_NO SERIOUSLY WHAT DOES IT MEAN._

"No? Well, good for you, then."

_Chibi, I don't think she can understand you like Kuni, Nanami and I._

_Then can't you tell me what it means?!_

Fancy. There. Are you happy?

_I am now._

She turned to me. "You don't look like you're from around the city, either."

"Not really." I shook my head. _She definitely can't be our next partner, right? Just keep a conversation... Hey, I'm getting better at the social thing!_

Mimiru wasn't impressed. _Of course you are. If you'll excuse me, I'll cut off the 'connection' for a while. I'm a busy person._

_… really?_

There was no reply.

"Now, take me to the playhouse!" Our new acquaintance declared. We both gave her a blank look.

_Uhh... Momma always told me to ask _politely_. _Chibi pointed out.

"... You're not going to tell me you don't know who I am, are you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Have you been living in a cave?!"

I shook my head. "Not from around here, remember?"

_I think she's mean. _Chibi grumbled.

_Just put up with her for a while. She'll be off our backs soon enough... hopefully._

"_Well._" The girl cleared her throat. "I'm Kagu, and I'm the most popular child actor in the land!"

_Yeah, I don't like her._

_Chibi. _I tried not to roll my eyes.

"If I tell you to jump, you ask how high in mid-air!" Kagu snapped. Meanwhile, the local little sun god yawned. "Oh, no! Don't you give me that look!"

_I'm not giving you 'that look'._ He complained boredly.

"Take me to the theater and I'll give you some comp tickets. That's a pretty sweet deal, right?"

I glanced at Chibi. "You _were _going on about sightseeing."

He didn't reply due to being curled up, asleep.

_That _got a facepalm out of me.

"Come on! I overslept, and Father will kill me if I'm late!" Kagu almost sounded desperate. Unfortunately, the prissy layer made it hard to tell. "Just let me hop on your back!"

_She's talking to you, Chibi. Better listen, she's about to tell you to jump._ I told him sarcastically. He let out a sigh and did so after dragging himself back up.

"Thanks. Now what was so hard about that?" The actress got a smug look on her face. "How about I give you a name as a reward?"

"I'm invisible, aren't I?" I muttered, suddenly wishing I had pockets to shove my hands in.

_Ohhh no she doesn't! Li, tell her no, tell her no! _Chibi begged.

"Let's see, you're a little dog, so I'll call you Pooch. Sound good?"

_LIIIIIII._

_What? Sorry, wasn't paying attention._

_That was MEAN!_

_At least she had the consideration to pretend she cared._

"Oh, yeah." Kagu turned around to glance at me. "You're his owner, right?"

"I... guess." I nodded, causing the god in question to glare daggers at me. "It's more of an 'equals' relationship than dominance." _And you wouldn't understand that. _"I'm Lilac."

Kagu took a moment to think. "Yeah, you're really not from around here."

_She and Kuni would be best friends. _Chibi decided.

_Then I'm calling her Furniture. _

_What?!_

"Okay, you two! Take me to the playhouse!" Kagu declared, pointing forward. Chibi and I exchanged an awkward glance.

"Yeah... sure."

_Where is it, again?_

_I don't KNOW! We were too busy debating the color of the sky right now!_

"You _do _know it's right over there, don't you?" She asked dully, leaning forward and pointing at an extravagant building just ahead.

"... Oh."

_We knew that._

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Sorry for the abrupt end, but I was in a rush to get this chapter out tonight. Yeaaah._

_For those of you who somehow DON'T understand the name jokes Li keeps cracking, Kuni's name means 'country' and Kagu literally translates to 'furniture'._

_Oh, Capcom. Silly, silly Capcom._

_Meanwhile, Lilac's roommate Celia's also entering this part of the timeline soon. Go read Okami Chibiterasu and Celia's Adventure prologue if you haven't already, as Desi and I are very good friends and I am entitled to shamelessly advertise her story._

_Next chapter of Closer to the Rising Sun: **Shining Power**!_

**Kagu: Review!**

Chibi: I still don't like her.

**Lilac: Heh heh... furniture.**

**Kagu: What?**

**Kuni: SHE'S CRAZY DON'T LISTEN TO HER.**

**Lilac: Go back to being booted from the plot, Country.**


	13. Burning Down the Theater

**_SPECIAL EDIT:_**

Everyone, the next [canon] chapter of Closer is being put off as I write... or draw, rather... a completely different chapter. A bonus chapter [Bonus A ~ Dependent], if you will. Please check my dA page at points over this weekend [August 31-September 4] for the pages of this chapter.

**[no this isn't just me procrastinating on Kurow's introduction so Lilac doesn't murder him sooner why do you ask**

**seriously do you people know how hard it is to keep those two from killing each oher look she can't go five seconds without trying to push him off a cliff]**

_**END EDIT  
**_

_So this chapter took longer than I wanted it to._

A LOT longer.

So I finally sat down at the beginning of our two-day break due to hurricane coming in and decided to finally give this thing one last try. And somehow... I finally finished this chapter.

Well, since we've got tomorrow off too, I might as well try to get out chapter 14 before I have to go back to school...

Lilac: In the words of LORE, have fun!

... shut up.  


_Thanks to **Daughter of Kabegami**, **TheManWithBacon**, **NightPhoenix10/Spirits and Shadows**,and **okamiAmaterasu2012** for your reviews! Love you guys~! _

_... what._

_*shot*_

__**Chibi: Se-**

**Lilac: Hey, look, a butterfly!**

Chibi: WHERE?! *dashes off*

Kagu: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den-

Lilac: *coughs* And only owns her OCs.

Tsuki: *pulls cord* Leeeet's _start~!  
_

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Are you guys getting the feeling that people are staring at us?_ Chibi asked awkwardly as we made our way through the city streets.

_Chibi. I'm pretty sure people staring happens all the time._

Kagu shuddered, excluded from the conversation but still getting the same feeling we were. "I hate this place sometimes." She muttered. "I mean, yeah, the city's usually great. But all you have to do is listen sometimes."

Chibi's ears pricked up. _What's that supposed to mean?_

Our pace slowed somewhat, and I started paying a bit more attention to the conversations around us. Most of them were, obviously, gossip, and most of _that _sounding like it was about us.

And then, somewhere in the mass of people-which was seriously starting to make me uncomfortable-there was a completely different topic going on.

"_... opening back up the South Coast ruins, didn't you know?"  
_

_"I thought they'd been opened for a while now?"_

"No, the ones in South Coast, the ones that have been closed down for three years..."

A bark from Chibi snapped my attention away. _Come on, we should go._

"Yeah." I muttered, walking faster.

_I guess even in the old world, the untainted world... people still have reason to gossip.  
_

_The two worlds aren't that different._

Not realistically.

**0-0-0-**

**Your local scene transition has been interrupted. Please try again later.**

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFF-"

_The Playhouse wasn't that far away after all!_ Chibi noted cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Kagu was throwing over a fit over my spazzing and Chibi's semi-fourth wall breaking.

"What the heck _is _this?!" She demanded. "They changed the name to 'Purgatory'?!"

_What was it called originally?_

_She's not going to answer._

Why not?

"And the door's locked, too." The actress girl groaned. "_Great. _All right, you two, listen up!"

"We _were _listening."

"Don't care. We're going to use the rear entrance!" Kagu clapped for literally no reason. "Come on, let's go!"

_Where's the rear entrance? _Chibi complained. I sighed.

_Follow my lead, I think I can find it..._

About ten minutes later of our companion shrieking that we were going the _exact wrong way_, on the other hand...

_Heads up,_ Mimiru suddenly came back. _Steve and Hal._

_Those are NOT Steve and Hal._

How do you know?

_BECAUSE I KNOW A SALES IMP AND AN EVERYTHING-PHOBIAC DEMON WHEN I SEE THEM._

"Hey, Pooch!" Kagu demanded. "Go save her!"

_... What makes you think I WASN'T going to?!_

No one noticed me sliding an Exorcism out of the pouch.

**Initiating Combat Mo-**

_LILAC WE AGREED YOU'D STOP THAT!_

The only answer he got was insane cackling.

**... exiting combat mode?**

_LI!_

While Chibi proceeded to chase me around Kagu in circles, the little girl the author had oh-so-slickly neglected to mention beamed. "Thank you, Kagu. … And you too, doggy."

"Oh, so I had no part in this?!" I snapped, almost stumbling as Chibi used Powerslash on my foot. "HEY!"

Our shenanigans were, fortunately, ignored.

"You can call him Pooch." Kagu was unfazed. Chibi, on the other hand, wasn't. "He works for me."

_I do NOT work for her!  
_  
_Yeah, I'd be worried for the day you start working for furnitu-_"OW! Quit it!"

Chibi waved his tail around menacingly. _Not until you promise to stop CHEATING!_

At this point, we'd both stopped and Kagu was the only thing standing between the sparks flying between us.

"I can't believe you got such a strong doggy to work for you." The conversation continued. "I guess it's 'cause you're not normal!"

Kagu sweatdropped, either from the fact that Chibi and I were dangerously close to some degree of fighting or because of the comment that might have been an insult. "I'm... not normal..."

"What?"

"Uhh... nothing!" The actress girl faked a laugh while Chibi suddenly lunged around her and tackled me to the ground. "Just forget it. Hey, you two! We're going!"

I flailed uselessly, Chibi's paws planted on my chest and him obviously not in the mood to let go of his hostage. "... Little help here first?"

Kagu muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'you two are useless' and then took a sharp breath...

**0-0-0-0-0**

_She did NOT have to yell that loud, _Chibi whined, ears still twitching as we came up to the back entrance of the Playhouse.

_You started it!_

Nuh-uhhh!

"_Look _at that!" Kagu broke up the argument. "The rear entrance has been destroyed."

"... You do realize we can probably still open the other half that's still there, right?"

_The doorknob's broken._

"... Oh."

"If only we could fix it..." Kagu sighed. "I guess we should turn back a-"

She was interrupted by the door _magically fixing itself _I mean Chibi using Rejuvenation.

"Hey, it's been fixed by... something."

_SOMETHING?! _Chibi sputtered. _You people are going to be the death of me!_

"Whatever. I need to speak with Father immediately." The actress yanked the door open and practically stormed through.

Chibi and I exchanged a glance.

_… Can we ditch her? _Chibi begged.

"... As much as I want to..." I sighed, shaking my head. "You know your mom wouldn't want us to abandon someone like that. Besides, what if demons took over the Playhouse or somethi-"

Chibi's eyes grew wide.

_You jinxed us earlier. Didn't you._

"... Awww CRAP."

Chibi shook his head, trotting past me. _Well, Momma better be proud of us for being good like this. That's all I'm saying._

"Maybe it's about more than what we _have _to do." I trailed behind him, crossing my arms. "Doing something because you don't have a choice is one thing. Doing it because it's the right thing to do? I think that's what we're supposed to be getting here."

_Yeah, yeah..._

"How about we make a game out of it?"

The young god turned around, tilting his head. _Huh?_

"Will you two _hurry up_?!" Kagu called from the other room.

"Coming!" I called, smacking my forehead. _We'll talk about it later._

_Okay..._

And of course, Furniture was waiting for us _across _the next room.

"This is my father's room." She gestured around. "He's the head of our troupe, and that makes him the boss."

_I never would have guessed. _I rolled my eyes while she wasn't looking.

"You know, I don't see my mother around, either..." Kagu's voice lost some of its bravado for once. "Hm? There's a letter here."

_I bet it's the demons demanding a ransom. How much yen do we have on us?_

_Chibi!_

Kagu took the note off the desk and tried to smooth it out a bit. "_Dearest Kagu... there's nothing that can be done for the theater. Please escape while you still can._"

There was a brief silence and she started squeezing the paper in her hands, effectively crumpling it up.

"That was my father's handwriting," She began softly. "But he's mistaken."

She whirled around and hurled the balled up paper across the room, watching it bounce off the wall and roll across the floor. "He should know I won't run away just because he tells me to!"

_Was that really necessary? _Chibi sweatdropped.

_… Should we really be surprised at this point?_

Yeah, true...

"Come on, Lilac, Pooch! We need to go find Father!" Kagu announced.

The two of us exchanged a glance. Chibi just yawned.

I hesitated for a moment.

_This was the chance I was given._

_I guess... the time to start changing is now._

"Yeah," I nodded, ruffling Chibi's fur to his dismay. "Let's do it."

The actress blinked, apparently not expecting this as an answer. "... Thanks. I knew you'd see things my way." She grinned, a bit smugly, then turned around. "Let's go!"

_Hang on! _Chibi cried out, daunted. _I-we-I never agreed to this!  
_  
_Chibi. I told you we have to do it. _I shrugged. _Come on. You're the sun god, and this is your duty._

_So why do you have to be my BABYSITTER and tell me what to do?!_

"I'm not BABYSITTING you!" I snapped out loud. Kagu turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"... Nothing." My face went red and Chibi giggled.

_… shut up._

**0-0-0-0-0**

As we came out to the stage, Kagu found it necessary to state what it was to us. "The audience sits on the other side of this curtain." She motioned to a multi-colored curtain stretching across the edge of the stage, then turned around. "Hm? … Oh, come on! Why is the revolving stage facing the wrong way?"

True to her word, all of the dissorted props were facing front.

"It's the front of the set that's supposed to face the audience." Our 'guide' brought a hand to her face and sighed. "Good grief..."

Without warning, a pair of clams and a masked stagehand fell from the ceiling. Kagu just glanced up, brought her hands together, and a barrier of light suddenly formed around us.

Chibi and I both backed away as the barrier repelled the demons and stagehand and the actress started fuming. "Come _on_, you two! Get a move on!"

_Huh?! _Chibi suddenly jerked back to reality, apparently having spaced out from shock.

"It's your job to get rid of all the demons!"

_Oh, right!_

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"All right, let's handle this one fair and square." I tried to convince both myself and Chibi. He just barked out a laugh.

_Suuure._

"Is that a challenge?" I flicked my wrist, summoning Divine Retribution and grinning.

_Make it._

And then the fight scene was skipped because Senom's a jerk like that.

"SENOMMMMMMMM!"

"AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

**Exiting Combat Mode**

Kagu sweatdropped as Chibi and I proceeded to turn around and stare at her.

"W-what are you looking at?" She tried to fake a laugh. "I didn't see any electricity just now! Did you?"

_Yep._

"... Yeah, we did."

"I'm just like everyone else. Nothing strange here!" Kagu started to sound desperate, then finally lost it.

"Just forget everything you saw here! Everything! You hear me?!"

Chibi backed away, blinking. _Li?_

_Yeah?_

_She's scaring me._

Kagu wasn't making it any better, seeing as how she proceeded to stomp over to Chibi and start shaking his head back and forth.

"THAT'S what'll happen if you _dare _tell anyone!" She snapped. This time it was my turn to back away. "Are we clear on this?"

Both he and I nodded hurriedly, sweatdropping.

"Good! Now, let's go find my father." Kagu tossed her hair over her shoulder and nodded, satisfied.

_I... I'm dizzy... _Chibi complained.

Meanwhile, the nearby stagehand was coming back to his senses. "Miss Kagu! What happened?"

"You were possessed by an evil spirit." She shrugged it off like this happened all the time.

"I was... possessed...?" He paused. "Wait, I remember now! We were all here... then they jumped us! Took control of us!"

"What about Mother and Father?" Kagu leaned forward, somehow suddenly on Chibi's back again. Apparently, the ability of walking was beyond her.

"I'm sorry... they were kidnapped by some... odd honcho demon." The stagehand frowned. Kagu raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'odd'?"

"Like... haughty, I guess? Big name actor...ish?" The stagehand struggled, Kagu's eyes bearing right through him.

"A demon that thinks it's an actor..." Our companion mused. "So if we set up the stage for a show, it might come out!"

"I guess... That seems reasonable." He didn't look completely convinced. "Who knows with demons?"

"We have to try." Kagu grinned. "What do you need to start up a show?"

I turned to her. "... shouldn't you know?"

"Shut up."

"First, we need to rotate the stage into position." The stagehand still didn't seem like he thought this was the best plan in the world.

"All right. Lead the way!"

_Get her off me... _Chibi sobbed silently.

_You didn't have a problem with Nanami or Kuni!_

Actually, I did. Mermaids are HEAVY.

… I'm going to go ahead and say don't tell Nanami that.

… that's a pretty good idea.

We followed the stagehand into the next room nonetheless. My footsteps slowed behind everyone else as there was a slow _creeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa-_ from the ceiling.

"Guys?"

_Why are you always the first one to notice these things?! _Chibi groaned, looking up just as the cog started to come loose.

There wasn't time to move out of the way. "Kagu!"

"Oh, for the love of..." She pulled her hands together and electricity began sparking, repelling the cog and suspending it in the air. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead and she shut her eyes to concentrate.

"This... thing... is..." Kagu gritted her teeth. "... a little heavy..."

"Chibi!" I hissed.

_What?_

"DO SOMETHING!"

_Why can't you?!_

"I can't... hold it... Someone... anyone..."

"CHIBI!"

_All right, already! _He dashed over to jump up on top of a platform. Thing.

"... I need... your help..." Kagu gasped out. "I can't... hold it..." Her barrier started to weaken. "... Pooch... help me...!"

"CHIBI WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING."

He finally bashed his head against the giant gear, sending it clattering to the floor a few feet away. Kagu collapsed on her knees, breathing heavily.

_Is she okay?_

"Pooch... you..." She managed to get out between wheezing, before pushing herself back up and flying into a rage.

"... IDIOT!"

_I saved you, didn't I?!  
_  
"Because I told you to..." I muttered, burying my face in my hands.

"When someone asks you for help, you don't just SIT there!" Kagu fumed, before turning to me. "And you! You didn't do anything either, Lilac!"

I backed off, deciding not to further her opinion that we were both useless. "You two are always waiting until the last second to help!"

Behind her, the stagehand coughed. "Miss Kagu...? Did you just-"

She whirled around, panicking. "No! You didn't see anything! Got it?!"

_… well, her life being saved doesn't change her attitude. _Chibi sighed. I gritted my teeth.

"If you tell anyone, this is what'll happen to you!" Kagu stormed forward and started shaking the stagehand around by the stomach.

That... had to be awkward.

"O-o-okay, ma'am!" The stagehand tried to get the words out. "I can't even remember my own name!"

"Good!" She let go, watching him stumble back. "Keep it that way! Now, tell me how to move the set!"

Chibi sweatdropped. I just sighed.

"This might be a long dungeon..."

**0-0-0-0-0**

A while later...

"Jump!" Kagu yelled from across the room. I clung onto the pole that was holding up the rotating gear I just happened to have to get off.

"How?!"

"Just do it!"

"I'll get redirected and _fall!_"

Chibi shook his head sadly. _How did we even..._

… all right, so long story short, we were on a grand adventure to save the other three stagehands. Unfortunately, it had come to an abrupt halt when we came to the room with spinning gears.

The most hilarious thing was, the next possessed stagehand was right on the other side of the room, just staring at us.

"Look, Pooch and I were able to do it!" Kagu tried to reason with me. "I swear you won't fall. Just jump across the platforms and get over here!"

_Shocking. _Mimiru came back all of a sudden, giving me a heart attack. _The fearless songstress can't get over a fear of heights._

_SHUT UP MIMIRU NOW IS __**NOT**__ THE TIME! _I reluctantly took my hands off the pole and started waiting for the new rotation to finish.

"What are you DOING?!" Kagu cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Just let me-" I started running, eyes firmly shut, and jumped across to the next platform without stopping, "-do this-" just one more jump to go, "-and see, I can get across that way."

There was the distinct sound of Mimiru banging her head against something. Probably her throne.

Kagu and Chibi both sweatdropped.

"... Let's just go fix that stagehand." The actress sighed. "Hey! You! What are you _doing,_ I need you to go-"

The stagehand was too busy giggling to take notice.

"... Not him, too..."

"You little brat!" The possessed stagehand cackled. "I'll eat you whole if you bother me again!"

I suddenly wished I had my spearblade again just to poke him with it.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

No one noticed me sliding out an Exorcism...

_LILAAAAAAAAAAAC-_

"Whoops!" I giggled, hiding the pouch behind my back. "What could have _possibly _done that, I'm sure it wasn't me-"

Chibi and Kagu just glared.

"What. It was convenient."

**Exiting Combat Mode**

"Good, we exorcised another stagehand." Kagu sighed, still glaring at me.

"What? I got the job done!" I protested.

She shook her head. "Just try to control yourself next time..."

_Yeah, Li,_ Chibi mimicked, _control yourself._

I just stuck my tongue out at him in reply.

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Get out of here and help everyone with the stage!"

"I know you have to yell, but can't you do it a bit more quietly?" I muttered under my breath. The next stagehand wasn't any more helpful than the first.

"Why should I listen to a whiny little girl like you? Buzz off."

Kagu was quiet for a moment. "Pooch?"

_Yeees?_

"Sic 'em."

"Did she just sa-"

**Initiating Combat Mode**

_With pleasure! _Chibi got a somewhat demonic look in his eyes as he started assailing the demon set before us.

I just stood back and watched. "... Kagu?"

"Yeah?" She called, barely holding on as Chibi flailed around with his glaive.

"... Never say that around him again."

**Exiting Combat Mode**

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Three down, one to go..." I muttered as we came back out at the main room. "Wait a second, we've come in a circle and we're _missing _one?"

"There weren't any detours to take there." Kagu thought for a moment. "Hey, Pooch! One of the moving floors over there just activated!"

_For no reason! _He mimicked her tone sarcastically. I sighed and trailed behind them.

"Still gonna be a long dungeon."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_There's the last stagehand! We're almost DONE! _Chibi cheered.

Kagu wasn't as enthusiastic.

"What are you doing? You should be helping with the stage!" She snapped at him.

And like the other three, this one really wasn't amused.

"You do not belong here, girl!"

"It's MY theater!" She yelled, outraged.

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"Let me off, Pooch!" Kagu suddenly slid off Chibi's back and took out her paper fan that's just now being mentioned for no real reason. "_Do not belong here _my foot! I'll SHOW him who doesn't belong here!"

It's not every day you get to watch an eleven or so year old girl beat up an Ice Lip and Fire Eye with a paper fan, but Kagu proceeded to do just that.

_Holy... _Chibi watched, dazed.

"And this," I started, crossing my arms, "is what Kagu and Nanami have in common, and we should be happy they're on our side."

_… Yeah..._

**Exiting Combat Mode**

Chibi and I both backed away from Kagu.

"... What?"

**0-0-0-0-0**

"So we effectively still made a montage without actually making a montage," I remarked, watching the stagehands rotate the set into position and ignoring the fact that we'd skipped Chibi getting Inferno completely. "Not bad."

"All right, we've got the stage facing front now." Kagu declared, somewhat unnecessarily. "We just have to wait for those irksome demons to show up!"

So we waited.

… and waited.

"Okay, where are they? Come out, come out!" She tried to coax. A stagehand came back up from downstairs.

"If I may..."

"What is it?!" Kagu snapped, whirling around. He sweatdropped.

"Ma'am! I don't know how to say this... The demons kidnapped all our customers."

"The nerve!" The actress fumed. "Those demons have no decency!"

_Well, they're demons. What did you expect?_

"You haven't met Hal," I muttered, triggering an odd glance from Chibi.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" The stagehand agreed. "And if we don't fill the audience, then we probably can't get the bosses to show themselves..."

"Why didn't you say that at the beginning?" Kagu demanded, then sighed. "So where are they being held?"

"Um, yes! Dressing room... second floor..."

"Finally, some answers." Kagu sighed. "Lilac, Pooch, come on."

"Yeah, we're coming." I nodded, trailing behind her.

**0-0-0-0-0**

"You know," I mused to myself, "It's a good thing Line Break got fired."

"Who?"

"... You wouldn't get it, never mind."

The stairway suddenly sealed behind us.

"Greaaaat. More demons." I sighed.

Suddenly, a montage began! Now with fifty percent more montage!

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

**0-0-0-0-0**

"... I didn't even know there were such things as toilet spirits."

_I... didn't either..._

"Whatever, at least it's _gone._"

"Hey, can you guys fix thi-"

_AAAAAAAAH ANOTHER DEMON!_

"Kill it kill it kill it!"

"Guys."

_… Oh, okay._

"Thanks for fixing that prop for me."

"Uh... huh... come on guys, let's go."

"You remind me of Ha-"

"LILAC COME ON. And Pooch, stop trying to play with the props. We've got work to do!"

_Awwww..._

"Hey, it's Miko Cho! POOCH. DEMON. KILL. NOW."

_Ask nicely._

"Ask nicely, Kagu."

"... Please kill the demon."

_Thank you._

"Pooch. Stop staring."

_What? I wasn't staring!_

"He wasn't staring."

_… I wish she could understand me..._

"Oh, yeah, clothes, that's the best present eve-"

The montage was abruptly cut off as we left the room by Kagu smacking me upside the head.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She grumbled, stashing the Miko Dress in the inventory. "Come on, you two. We saved the audience, so it's time to take those demons out."

_Yeah, sure, whatever. _Chibi yawned.

As soon as we got on the stage...

… well.

What do you _want _me to say? Sheesh.

"There!" Kagu grinned, if not slightly grimly. "I found you!"

We were then showered by confetti to the face.

"That is NOT fair!" I complained, brushing the confetti off.

"Even in my former life, I was never brought to anger as I am now," The demon before us began. Chibi suddenly stepped forward and started sniffing said demon.

"... Wait, what are you doing...?"

Chibi stared up. _Are you a lady demon?_

There was a long silence. Even Kagu seemed to get the message.

"... Err... yes... yes I am."

Chibi just continued staring, then finally backed away.

I coughed. "Continue your spiel."

"All... right?" The now apparently female demon resumed. "In any case, I could have absorbed the souls of thousands from this stage. I would have had my finest performance but for your interference! You have earned Sen's eternal wrath for your interpolation here!"

Another awkward silence came to pass. Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder to see the fuming author.

"Li?"

"Yeah?"

"_Sic 'em._"

"With pleasure."

And then a giant Kabuki doll appeared.

"... Well that's not FAIR!"

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Sen the Copycat/Extravagant Theatric/Stork in a Kimono/Apparently Female?**

And apparently Senom was still intent of the mass-murdering of the fourth wall.

"SIC 'EM, LI!" She screamed, almost frothing at the mouth. Tsuki sweatdropped.

"Um... Boss..."

"_WHAT._"

"... Calm down? Please?"

Meanwhile, onset, both literally and figuratively, in this case...

"Who authorized this thing?!" Kagu wasn't any more helpful. Chibi sighed.

_Demons. That's who._

Chibi and I took command of the fight, dodging tornadoes, gears, and then smacking the giant doll with our weapons.

Doesn't sound too climactic, does it?

Finally, Sen's 'host' went monochrome and a light suddenly appeared on its/her chest.

"Look! Something's sparkling!"

I resisted the urge to turn around and start looking for signs of Waka.

Two more lights appeared, forming a sort of triangle. Kagu paused, squinting at them.

"I know that light means something... Okay, Pooch!"

"What, I can't do anything?" I sighed.

_Careful what you wish for. _Mimiru was back. _You just might get it._  
_  
Shut up._

"You have to connect the dots in the order they glow." Kagu instructed. Chibi nodded, flicking his tail. An electric shock ran through Sen's host body.

Also effectively defeating her.

"That was easy." I commented, watching the demon disappear in a burst of purple flames. "... Hey, wait a second, we didn't get any yen out of that!"

_You're only concerned about the MONEY?! _Mimiru and Chibi both had the same reaction.

"YES!"

And then we were showered with more confetti and facing... a mutant ninja turtle.

"Aww, _come on..._"

"There's another one?" Kagu groaned.

"I am the world's foremost thespian," The demon didn't waste any time in introducing himself. Herself? Well, its partner was a girl... "I am the great Ryo!"

Okay, probably of the male variety.

"You may have defeated my partner, but you will not best me!"

In the background, Senom could be heard yawning. "Meh."

I facepalmed. "Someone shut her up."

"You will feel the pain of our wrath combined!" Ryo continued as the stage started revolving again.

And then there was another Kabuki doll.

Great.

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle I mean... … well, I'm out of ideas. Crap. Anyway, RYO. STRIFE.**

… What do you want me to say? The process pretty much repeated.

… Only this time when the lights appeared, they were frozen.

Chibi just yawned, melted them, and repeated the process once more.

"Yes! Got him!" Kagu cheered. "We need to get him to keep exposing his weak points to us!"

"Um. Kagu?" I backed up. "You shouldn't have said that."

"Why?" She twisted around to look at me, then was promptly hit by Ryo's hand.

"Your power is a threat to me, little girl. I will not allow it!"

Kagu went silent and Chibi bounced off the wall.

_Owwww..._

"Hey! That was _cheap!_" I called, sliding an Exorcism out.

_Li, I don't think that'll wo-_

"Ohhh yes it will." My eyes narrowed. "TIME TO BREAK THE LAWS OF NIPPON'S QUESTIONABLE PHYSICS!"

Two minutes later, Chibi retrieved Kagu.

"He hits pretty hard," She muttered, still dazed. "Don't take so long to save me next time..."

_At least I saved you!_

"Chibi."

_WHAT._

The battle continued until finally, Ryo was put in his place with Sen.

"Is it OVER?!" I knelt down, hands on my knees and panting. "Ugh, I knew I should've agreed to track instead of freaking _quilting club_... Who needs _quilts, _anyway..."

"Did we win?" Kagu gasped out, ignoring me.

_I hope so! _Chibi grumbled.

"No, you are _far _from winning, you little brats!" The twin demons' voices resounded.

"... Obviously _not._"

The stage rotated once more, revealing yet another kabuki doll.

_So how long do you think it took to set these up? _Chibi asked.

"Do we really need to know?" I sighed.

Sen and Ryo both popped out of the floor, showering us with even more confetti. "In fact... You must now face our combined might!"

If they were looking for a reaction, they got crickets.

"Uh huh." I examined my fingernails in mock disinterest. "Suuuure."

"What?!"

"We took down you both separately." Kagu shrugged. "I'm sure we can handle you together."

We were answered by a blast of fire.

"OH COME ON, THAT IS _NOT _FAIR!" I complained, holding up my arm over my face. Kagu did the same.

We didn't last long.

The blast knocked all three of us back. Kagu managed to prop herself up on one arm, staring up defiantly. "Ughh... I barely survived them one at a time..."

_YOU?! _Chibi fumed, apparently still having enough energy to be fairly peeved.

"I don't think I could face them both at once..."

I looked at the floor for a moment, then back at Chibi.

"Sorry about this." I muttered, pushing myself up to my feet and untying the ribbon around my neck. "Hey, Chibi? I hope... I hope you remember this."

"Lilac? What are you doing?!" Kagu's eyes widened as I tied the ribbon up in my hair and stepped in front of the two, arms outstretched.

"If your duty is to save this world..." I turned and grinned at Chibi faintly. "Then, it's mine to make sure you remember that duty. And that you're alive to carry it out."

_Li!_

Sen and Ryo unleashed another blast and I blocked my face with my arms. Apparently, whatever material Sayuri's people used was actually pretty fireproof, because the sleeves held out better than I'd expected.

I was still thrown to the floor, though.

_Crap._

_What was that even supposed to accomplish? _Mimiru snapped, suddenly. _Are you committing suicide for him, thinking he'll learn from it and go on to save the world without you?!_

It was his turn to get up and stand in front of Kagu.

"Pooch..." She began as another blast was fired.

And another.

And yet he kept getting back up and blocking it for her.

_… Thanks, Li._

But I don't need you to babysit me.

I grinned weakly, still dazed and leaning back against the wall, before realizing how badly he'd been hurt.

"CHIBI!"

Another blast started charging, one that might be the last. I pushed myself back up to my feet and, without thinking, extended one hand.

"_HALT!_"

Blue flames shot from my hand and flowed like a stream toward Sen and Ryo, holding the pair's host in place. I kept my hand raised, the other firmly on it as if not to let it fall.

Mimiru didn't say anything.

Chibi and Kagu both turned, and I tried to grin in reply.

"Hey, Kagu! Think you did it all alone, still?"

She slowly, reluctantly, smiled back.

"Thanks. But I don't need your help."

_Looks like it to me. _Chibi stumbled a bit, then watched Kagu take out her Miko Dress.

"I'm going to fight by your side. We're... equal."

And suddenly there was a magical clothes change.

Before anyone brings up ALBN, let me make it _very clear _that I will find a spearblade and run you through with it if you do.

… And then she started sparkling.

I would have started spazzing in the background, but I lost my hold of the blue fire and collapsed, unable to keep moving. Sen and Ryo regained control.

"What is this... purity of spirit?! It's undoing my power!"

I tried to raise up a hand. "No props to the person who just FROZE YOU WITH FIRE!"

Wait.

"... What did I just do, again."

"I used to hate being different from others." Kagu turned to Chibi, still sparkling. "I just wanted to be normal. I just wanted to be an actress. I would pray for that every day. But you two changed my mind. You risked your lives... for me."

_I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't pulled me into it. _Chibi shot a wolf grin in my direction. Vision starting to blur, I attempted a thumbs up and collapsed back against the wall.

The last words I heard were Kagu continuing to Chibi before everything went black again.

**0-0-0-0-0**

And deep in the depths of the songstress's mind, in the realm claimed by that who was called the contagion of fate, Mimiru shut the book she was holding.

"You're one of them, all right." She murmured. "And that's why your existence has to come to an end."

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_OH NOEEEEEEEEES CLIFFHANGER_

Lilac: I'd be more concerned about the fact that you skipped a third of the boss fight.

Shut up and go back to being passed out.

_By the way, if no one here noticed, the title of this chapter was changed to reflect my reference LP (LuckySevenDX). One of the episodes that was covered (sort of, seeing as how the whole dungeon was montaged in some way) was titled "Burning Down the Theater"._

_There's going to be another dungeon chapter titled in a similar fashion, but for now..._

Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: Goodbye, Tour Guide, Hello...-

_Lilac: How about 'Hell No', can we put that in the title?_

*throws OC out window*

**Kagu: Review, everyo-**

**Tsuki: BOSS RULE! *pulls cord and sends Kagu down hole in the floor***

Kuni: ... Where do those things even go?

Tsuki: No one knows... *giggles ominously*  


**Kuni: WHAT?!**

Sen, Ryo: Review...

**Lilac: Oh, boo-hoo, we didn't finish your boss fight. Tsuki, can you dump them too?**

Tsuki: With pleasure! *pulls different cord*

Kuni: ... She scares me.

Lilac: I know, she scares everyone.


	14. A Secret, A NotSoSecret

_All right, everyone, time for the chapter I'm sure most of you have been waiting for..._

Lilac: *coughs* Except me...

_... and personally me because it's going to be a pain keeping you two from murdering each other. Anyway, welcome to Chapter 14 of Closer to the Rising Sun!_

_Actually, I lied. One of those two introductions, we took the same route as we did for Kuni. Someone please play the song 'Two Kids Glaring At Each Other', we'll need it next chapter._

_Thanks to **Daughter of Kabegami**, **TheManWithBacon**, and **Spirits and Shadows **for reviewing!_

_And now if you'll all excuse me, I promised myself my last Little Debbie cupcake for finishing this chapter._

NOM.

**Kagu: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den, and only owns her OCs.**

Lilac: ... Fine. Fine, you know what? I'm going to just let you people do the disclaimers. I'm not even going to _**try **_**anymore!**

Chibi: Really? Yay! 8D

Lilac: ... crap.

**0-0-0-0-0**

When I finally came back around, we were back outside the Playhouse. More specifically, next to the rear entrance.

"This is still a stupid idea," Kagu insisted, still in her Miko dress. Chibi didn't seem deterred.

_Yeah, and do you have any better ones?_

"Pooch..."

Chibi brightened, turning back to me. _Hey, you're okay!_

I winced. "Yeah, I guess. What'd I miss?"

"We ran those demons right out of town." Kagu winked, seeming in a good mood for the first time since we'd met her. "You missed the whole thing."

"Sorry 'bout that. I was too busy playing the shield."

Chibi started licking my face. _Don't ever do that again, okay?_

"Do what?"

"You scared him." The actress explained, shrugging. "He kept whining about how he shouldn't have let you take that first hit, that you'd been right the whole ti-"

"You understood him?" I tried to push myself up, then fell back.

_Your spine's bruised from the impact of hitting the floor like that. _Mimiru explained.

_... Thanks for the warning._

_I guess whatever made Kuni and Nanami understand, it made Kagu understand once she accepted her Miko powers. Right? _Chibi turned to Kagu, who nodded.

"That's probably it. Anyway, Lilac, you're still hurt... Pooch had an idea, but I still don't like it."

The young god produced some Divine Sake.

"... Chibi."

_What? You weren't against us using some against Bullhead!_

"That was _different!_"

_No, it wasn't!_

Kagu sighed. "Well, you can either wait out the injury or try this out to heal."

_And if you don't try, I might end up on my own. _Chibi started, glancing at Kagu.

"... I'm sorry. I have to go start my training later. This was supposed to be a goodbye meeting." She shook her head. "Pooch can't go on alone. He needs you to look out for him, Lilac."

I looked between the two of them and took the flask.

"I'm just letting you know, if this doesn't work, you owe me the yen back." I tried to grin. Chibi nodded.

_Promise._

It reminded me of one year on New Year's Eve, when Claus and I were staying with Lily again.

_"... Hey, sis, try some too!"_

"Claus, she's five."

"So? You let me have some!" The ginger stuck his tongue out. "It's okay, you won't end up like Dad."

"That's not very nice!" I'd snapped back. Lily shook her head, leaning back on the couch.

"He didn't mean anything. Go ahead, Li. You probably won't like it, though." The aging woman held out a cup to me.

"So what is it?" Claus asked. Somewhere in the background of the memory, Lily's record player was going on again.

"Rice wine." Our grandma grinned and I coughed.

"What?!"

_Claus made a face. "Aw, come on. You liked it."_

"No, I didn't!" I set the cup back on the table and then shoved him lightly. "That's stupid."

"How's it stupid when adults have it all the time?"

Lily shook her head. "Hey, you two, it's almost midnight. Your mom'll come to pick you up soon."

"Aww, come on..."

Chibi jerked me back to reality. _So, is it working?_

I winced, putting down the flask while the pain in my spine slowly subsided. "Yeah, I think so."

_Good, I don't owe you your money back._

"Hey!"

Kagu grinned and extended a hand. "Need some help getting back up?"

I started to say no, then nodded and took it. "Thanks."

"Since you're all better now, Pooch and I figured we could hang out for a little bit. Miko Cho's still preparing for my training, so we've got the time."

I brushed off my skirt and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. What'd you have in mind?"

_I wanted to go see the beach again. Just for a little while. _Chibi begged. I sighed and ruffled his fur.

"... Yeah, why not? I guess after this, it's back to the search."

The little god's expression turned somber. _We'll find him, right?_

"Course. So, what're we waiting for?"

**0-0-0-0-0**

_So what're the ruins everyone keeps talking about? _Chibi asked as we left the city gates. Kagu shrugged.

"I haven't really been paying much attention. There's the ruins in Northern Ryoshima Coast that the archaeologists have been all over for weeks, and then the ones in South Coast that have been closed down for who knows how long. No one really goes there." She paused. "It's supposed to still be cursed."

_What, like a cursed zone...?_

"Not that kind of curse." She shook her head. "People say it's the ruins of some really old, six hundred years or so ago civilization that was cursed by the gods. Everyone who lives in Sei-An or out along the coast? We're the descendants of the people who warred with them for a long time."

"There was a war here in Nippon?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of..." Kagu shook her head. "I don't remember all the details, but it was something like a territory dispute. I'm not that well-versed in history, sorry."

_Bet you'll need to learn all this in your Miko training. _Chibi shot her a wolf-grin.

"Oh, shush, Pooch. If I do, I'll ace it."

"That's what you say now." I smirked at her.

"Not you too-!"

We came down the slope onto the beach and stopped. For some reason, all of the Demon Scrolls had disappeared. All that remained was a soft breeze carrying the sea's laments.

_I think I remember being told about that war, _Chibi began slowly. _The Northern and Southern territories were divided completely. One side owned everything a bit inland, and the other owned the entirety of the coast. They... They sacrificed each others' people._

"What?!" Kagu and I both turned to look at him. He nodded solemnly.

_My dad said that one of the Okami cursed them to end the war, but Li's grandma and Momma say that's not true. They fought over it sometimes._

There was a long silence, just the three of us standing on the sand.

"Do you think we can go see the ruins?" I finally broke it, turning to Kagu. "Do you know where they are? The South Coast ones, I mean."

"Yeah, if you're not scared of being cursed." She shrugged. "Just a quick look, though. I think we need to get back soon."

_We just came out here! You SAID we had time! _Chibi complained. Kagu rolled her eyes.

"Pooch."

_What._

"If you want, we can go back now."

_Wait, no!_

"Then you should probably keep quiet." I told him.

_Not you too, Li... _He grumbled as we went along. _... Isn't it weird, though?_

"What is?"

_All the demons are gone. Usually even when a cursed zone's gone, there are some demon scrolls floating around..._

"Yeah, that's definitely not normal." I glanced around. "... Kagu, are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." We'd come to the path by the waterfall. "It's hidden. We have to go behind the waterfall."

"... Behind it."

"Yes."

"... So you mean we get to go through the water."

"That's what happens when you have to get behind a waterfall."

"... This is the best idea we've had all day," I grumbled. Chibi replied by using Waterspout and effectively splashing my face. "HEY!"

_So how do we get through without rock-climbing all the way down and then swimming through?_

"I never said we'd actually go down there." Kagu smirked and pointed to a cave nearby. "Didn't you see that?"

"... I hate you so much right now, Furniture."

Apparently either not hearing me or not caring, she glanced up at the sky. "... Actually, we've stayed out too long. Maybe if we can ever get together again?"

_I TOLD YOU SHE'S A LIAR!_

"When?" I glanced at him. Chibi just sputtered telepathically and Kagu shrugged.

"I don't know, but I have to go, at least. Are you two coming to see me off, or...?"

Chibi and I exchanged a glance.

_I'll go._

"..." I looked back at the cave leading to the ruins. Something about it was telling me it was worth wasting some time to check out...

_... so should I listen to the call of the crazy cursed city or to the duty of friendship?_

_I wonder, _Mimiru drawled sarcastically. _That is, how fast you can get killed in those ruins._

_... Thanks for the input, Mimiru._

"Kagu, I'm sorry."

"... I understand." She held out a hand. "Hey, Lilac... thanks."

"Shouldn't I be thanking you?" I shook it, grinning. "Nice meeting you. Maybe we will meet again."

"Yeah, maybe." The actress girl waved, getting on Chibi's back. "Come on, Pooch, let's go."

_Li, meet up with me in the city when you're done, okay? _He looked at me hopefully. _I... don't want to be alone. We need to start searching as soon as we can._

I gave him a thumbs up. "Will do."

And with that, we parted ways.

And no, the chapter didn't end here, because we still have two introductions to cover and I know the fangirls are going to murder both me and Senom if one of them doesn't happen.

_Well you're going to have to wait because we're covering the other one first._

Anyway, cave. Right.

For being cursed, it really didn't look that bad. Maybe a bit remnant of how Tsuta Ruins looked-a lot of old, damp, and musty air, and lots of small foliage-but not cursed.

Small crystals lined the walls, glowing with an eerie rainbow that painted the tunnel with pale light. And off in the distance, there was...

... a song?

_" The angel that stands within my dreams, faded by the touch of time;_

_Tells me to fight the shadow's hold; sleep away in the arms of fate..."_

A fog had started materializing, thickening with every step I took. I shuddered, keeping on until the only thing I could see was a drape of white.

Everything had gone eerily silent, and the only thing visible was the mist. I couldn't even see the ground.

"What the hell..." I whispered, before glancing back down at myself.

I was _myself _again. Not in the body of my eight year old self, but completely myself again. Except for the fact that I was exactly as I had been when I'd left Nippon nine months ago-the scar on my shoulder was still covered with a bloody rag, and it stung again just acknowledging it.

_Mimiru? Is this a dream?_

There wasn't an answer. I'd been left to fend for myself again.

"Just keep walking, I guess..." I muttered, doing so. "What the hell is this place?"

The mist gradually faded away to show a wasteland. Literally, that was all. A wasteland, dusted with ash and the occasional rubble. And then, in the center...

"... Oh, for Ammy's sake, no..." I kept walking, trying to see if it was a trick of my imagination.

It wasn't.

Encased in ice-like crystal was the form of Sayuri.

I reached out, running a hand across the surface. It really felt more like ice than crystal, but if she had been frozen...

"How's it going, Frostbite?"

"HOLY-" I spun around, face to face with a grinning ginger.

... Wait a second, what was a _ginger _doing in Nippon?

The stranger laughed, backing up a bit. "Ahaha, sorry. Frostbite's just my name for all of you descended from her. Er, all of two, anyway. Let me guess, you're related to the old lady who was the last Messenger, right?"

I gave him a blank look.

"... Messenger. Y'know, messenger of the gods, Frostbite?"

"... You mean Celestial Envoy?"

He snapped his fingers. "That's what they're calling themselves these days? Don't need to get all fancy about it. Anyway, the name's Emil. At your service, or at least as much service as I can be of when I'm stuck guarding this place."

"Uh-_huh..._" I glanced him over, deciding Emil was most definitely _not _from Nippon. Actually, he looked li-

I coughed suddenly. "Are you a _fairy_?!"

"What?"

"No, seriously, you look like an Irish fairy." I crossed my arms. "Without the wings, I mean."

Emil grinned sheepishly. "Well, you'd be the first one to guess right, Frostbite."

"Lilac."

"Whatever. You've done your research, haven't you?"

"Maybe." I shrugged. Ireland had been part of one of Emily and I's little 'research projects' over the course of nine months, along with the different types of fairies. "I'm guessing you were in the royal part of a court?"

The ruins guardian tugged at his waistcoat, embarrassed. "_Was_ in a royal circle, yeah. I got exiled six and a quarter centuries ago. Anyway, long story. Let's turn the conversation to something else, Frostbite, like you."

I deadpanned. "Err..."

"Do you even know why you came here?" Emil gestured to the crystallized form of Sayuri. "She hasn't made a sound in a hundred years, and she called to you."

"Called to me?"

"The song." He smacked his forehead, sighing irritably. "The ghost hag called it the Lullaby of the Protectors."

"Hag?! That's my _grandmother _you're talking about!" I snapped, face heating up. Emil rolled his eyes.

"Your Frostbite's descendant, all right," He muttered flatly. "Anyway, you should know it. Your Messenger grandma had her own verse to it."

I tried to think back to it. As if impatient, he started whistling softly.

"_The unborn child's story will spin on so long as the song of the stars plays..._" I turned back to him. "That's what it was?"

Emil nodded. "You've got it, Frostbite. It used to be a lullaby she'd use for the th..." His expression turned grim. "The both of us."

He leaned back against a mostly-obliterated stone pillar. "Anyway, Frostbite, it's been nice talking to you and all... but don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Ah, hell, you're right." I smacked my forehead, turning to leave before glancing back at him. "Hey... Emil?"

"Yeah?"

"This place... I think it broke a curse that's been on me for a while. Why?"

"So long as you're home, you'll always be yourself." He shrugged. "Something she used to say. This place used to be called Kaihinmura. Sayuri's home. And now, I'm stuck here protecting it." Emil snapped his fingers and then held up an orange ribbon.

"Think you dropped this, Frostbite."

"When...?" I took it in my hands and stared at him. "I only had it when I was-"

"You dropped it." He grinned. "Time to go, sweetheart. Feel free to come back when you've got more time on your hands, all I am is bored over here. Be sure to put that thing on before you leave."

I let out a sigh, tied the ribbon around my neck, and nodded. "Thanks, Emil. I guess. I'll see if I can come back later."

"Someone's waiting for you, Frostbite." Was all he said. I rolled my eyes, turned, and sprinted back through the fog.

I didn't stop running until I'd passed up Ankoku Temple.

"Frostbite, huh?" I muttered, stopping to catch my breath. "He's delusional, but hey, he's not Waka."

**0-0-0**

You would really think that after the city had been exorcised of demons, people wouldn't be roaming around the streets chattering as if nothing had ever changed.

Apparently this was _not _the case when it came to Nippon's capital.

It was really starting to get my nerves, being around crowds so often like this. If I knew and trusted the people around me or had gotten used to the particular area, I was fine with it, but since I didn't actually know anyone...

This spawned a whole new thought in my thought process.

"Aw, crap," I muttered, realizing that I had _no clue _where Chibi actually was. For all I knew, he could've already bolted from Sei-An, and I was _not _in any state of mind to go asking around for him.

I groaned and smacked my forehead, making tracks for the Great Wooden Plank That Unites Us All **(A/N: Mochi, I regret nothing)**- I mean, the bridge connecting the Commoner's and Aristocratic Quarters. _Just ignore everyone staring. This is normal, remember? You've always been the white-haired freak. You can put up with thi-_

Too preoccupied with the mental pep talk to look where I was going, it became apparent that the gaps between the bridge boards were large enough to effectively tripped someone.

I was that unlucky _someone_.

"It's official," I grumbled, pushing myself back up. "The next time I see that prophet, I'm giving him a piece of my mind for agreeing to help Lily out and drag me into all this."

Before I could make any more indirect and honestly harmless threats, Chibi decided to make an appearance.

_No time to talk gotta run! _He called telepathically, whizzing by with another partner in tow. I narrowed my eyes, scanning the rest of the bridge, but there was nothing there.

"_Chiisaki Taiyo!_" I called, not remembering where I'd learned his title and not really caring.

Apparently, it worked, because he stopped, finally, letting me see who was on his back.

"Oh _hell _no."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_I LIED WAIT TILL NEXT CHAPTER_

*murdered*

I've been having trouble with Kurow's introduction for the past few days, so I figured I owed myself that cupcake I'd been holding hostage against myself for this chapter anyway.

Anyway, next chapter might take a while. Trying to get a schedule worked out, but it's still very iffy. You know how I am with schedules. They really don't work.

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun:_ **Gods Make Magnets Work**_, title courtesy of my reference LP (shameless advertising GO), generously provided to the world by LuckySevenDX._

**Emil: Review, everyone!**

Lilac: Pfft, not for _him_.

Emil: ... You _do _realize I'm your ancestor, right, Frostbite?

Lilac: ...

Emil: DESCENDANTS BETTER BE RESPECTIN'.

**Lilac: ... this is why I hate my family sometimes.**


	15. The Official Introduction of Kurow

_HA._

I **KNEW **IT WOULD WORK.

_I have this thing called 'get paranoia for whatever fandom you're writing for excessively' frequently. It hits me for Okami during the autumnal and winter months, and usually I can't kick it back up until June._

_This month, I have ELUDED my paranoia and redirected it to TWEWY._

_Because apparently it works a **lot **faster for that one than this one._

So without further ado... let's resume the show! Thanks to **MysticDragon21** before all others for helping me work through this chapter-I might have been able to do it without you a few weeks ago, but a few months ago when we plotted this I certainly couldn't.

_And now, to the reviewers of chapter 14: A very grand thank-you to **NightPhoenix10/Spirits and Shadows, TheManWithBacon, Daughter of Kabegami, **and **7Aces**! Thank you all for your patience and encouragement._

_For the reviewers of our lovely interlude, which I duly apologize for having to include in this story: **Guest **and **TheManWithBacon!**_

By the way, Bacon, I am well aware that Lilac caused harm in a review to you, but I am on **very **thin ice with this girl right now.

_Lilac: *smacks spearblade against palm, somehow without cutting self*_

... please don't make her kill me aaaaaah.

_An extra note: This chapter is written in third person due to its being a collaborated effort. The first-person POV will resume next chapter._

_And now... Open up the chapter for us-_

**Lilac: Oh hell NO he isn't getting an opening yet!**

Senom: ... I was gonna say Emil.

**Lilac: ... oh.**

**Kurow: *waves from background***

Emil: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den, and for that matter owns absolutely nothing but her own OCs and several subplots being shoved into this, but that's something we're trying to stray off from.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Oh _hell _no."

The boy in question turned, a mostly uninterested expression on his face. "Dude, you got a problem?"

_Yes. Yes, I do._ Li silently seethed. "Not exactly, I just kind of like having a _warning, _you know, actually knowing ahead of time who Chibi's saddled the two of us up with this time. Nothing personal."

Technically, that wasn't it, but she was still trying to calculate _when the hell did Waka have a child and how did this prick get here and why do I have the horrible feeling we're going to be stuck with him for a while._

_Sorry, Li, but you were gone for a while. _Chibi trotted back up to her sheepishly. _This is... ... actually, I haven't gotten a name out of him yet._

"Fantastic." Li crossed her arms. "Care to answer that question for us?"

She'd forgotten to wait and make sure the stranger could understand Chibi, but apparently he could.

"Name's Kurow." The boy took out a flute, twirled it in his hand, and then put it back. "Who're you? You a friend of the little guy here?"

Lilac's eye twitched. "Only the person practically in charge of keeping an eye on him." _Chibi. Chibi where did you pick him up.  
_  
_I don't even know! _The god whined. _I don't know how I get dragged into these things, okay?_

She let out a sigh and glanced back up at Kurow. "Anyway, I'm Lilac. And _how _did you end up meeting him again?"

"The guards and I didn't exactly see eye to eye, y'know what I mean?" The boy said. "Anyway, gotta keep going! C'mon, boy!" He nudged Chibi with his foot.

_Ow ow ow will you quit that I'm going already. _Chibi groaned irritably and glanced back at Li. _Coming?_

"Do I have a choice?" She grumbled, tagging along.

Once they burst into the Commoner's Quarters, the boy wiped his forehead. "Nice one. We made it outta there no sweat." He jumped off Chibi and spun over to float in front of the wolf. "Thanks, dude. I think they would've kept me locked in there forever if they could."

He hopped over to the side of the road and took out his flute, spinning it and then pointing it at Chibi and Li as he struck a pose. "Kurow's the name, and having a good time's my game!" He announced, completely ignoring the fact that he had told them his name already.

Lilac's expression was twisted into something that looked suspiciously like she was getting ready to turn on her heel and walk away.

_I think that's a record. _Chibi remarked dully. _Usually it takes her a while to hate people._****

"Huh," Kurow remarked. "Looks like it's not your game." He floated over to Chibi and took the sun god's head in his hands, turning it so Chibi would look at him. "But you'll change your tune once you hear what I gotta tell you." He dropped his hands. "One day, a shooting star fell on Ryoshima Coast..." He began dramatically. "Then some awesome dude, just like, stepped out of it!" He continued not-so-dramatically.

Li coughed while Chibi just tilted his head slowly and stared.

"Thaat's nice, buddy." The former crossed her arms, tapping one foot against the ground impatiently. _… Chibi didn't we have, I dunno, something to dooo, or..._

_Yeah, just gimme a second and I'll figure out how to slip off._

YOU will?!

You can be the deco-

_AHAHAHAHA no._

"Now here's the good part," Kurow said, completely oblivious to Li and Chibi's  
conversation. "You know who that dude was?"

"Someone who's delusional?"

Kurow ignored Li and struck a pose. "It was yours truly!"

One cough. "Delusional." Two coughs.

Kurow grabbed Chibi's head again and turned it to face him. "Betcha didn't see that one coming, eh boy?" He asked, forcing Chibi to face him even as the wolf pup tried to turn his head away.

_Aack stop it stop it LI MAKE HIM STOP-_

And then Kurow started bouncing Chibi's head up and down, making it look like Chibi was nodding.

Lilac decided to take matters into her own hands.

"All right, all right, we get it, with your delusions of grandeur or whatever point you're trying to get across here, but y'see we _sort of _had something to do, if you would be so kind as to let us be on our way-"

"So you curious as to where it is I came from?" Kurow asked, looking like he was trying not to smirk. He took out his flute and spun it, then put it back again. "You're a little curious, right?"

"Please step out of our way or we'll make you. More accurately, _I'll_ make you."

Kurow started making Chibi nod again. "Yeah, I can tell. You're pretty curious."

Lilac suddenly wished she could just get a new spearblade already. Spearblades were a lot better for poking people than reflectors.

Chibi was starting to get dizzy circles in his eyes and started growling. _QUIT IT QUIT IT QUIT IT_ _Li can I hit him?  
_  
_I was going to._

_Please?  
_  
"But unfortunately for you, dude, I'm not gonna tell ya. Ha-ha! But if ya wanna know, then you'll have to come with me." He spun his flute again.

Something in both Li and Chibi's brains snapped. At about the same time that Li was about to turn on her heel and walk away-for real this time-Chibi's growling escalated and he backed up.

_For the love of my MOM will you STOP IT! And quit IGNORING me, I KNOW you can hear me!_

Kurow raised an eyebrow at Chibi. "Dude, you got a problem?"

_I MOST CERTAINLY DO HAVE A PROBLEM._

Lilac just started backing away.

Kurow simply stared at Chibi, that one eyebrow still raised. "And that would be...?"

_… You know what, I give up. _Something gave Li the feeling that if Chibi had a human form, he'd be throwing his hands up in exasperation at this point. _Come on, Li. He wants us to come with him, HE'S the one getting dragged._

They all suddenly looked at the bridge, however, as a figure came towards them, slowly walking as if it was tired beyond belief. They all stared as the figure- a woman - passed them, and then collapsed a few feet away.

"Dude, some girl's in trouble!" Kurow exclaimed. He floated towards the girl.

Lilac buried her face in her hands. "Grandma, what did I ever do to deserve being stuck on this joyride," she grumbled under her breath. "And what did I do to be surrounded by crazy people every step I take."

"Yo, lady, you okay?" Kurow asked as he and Chibi came closer.

"H-help me..." The woman said. She pushed herself up, then turned to face them.

If you were Kurow, you would have seen her face surrounded by tiny pink sparkles. If you were anyone else, you would have seen a lovestruck boy.

"Woah..." Kurow said. "You're gorgeous... You are SO magically delicious, lady!" He started rubbing his hands together, and if one looked hard enough, one might have seen hearts around his head.

Chibi decided Lilac had some very good ideas and began slowly backing away.

_What was that about sneaking off, again?_

"Could I get your name?" Kurow asked the lady. He floated forward.

Both members of the involuntarily spectating team sweatdropped.

"...King Fury..." The girl mumbled.

"For real? That's your real name? Kinda weird, but okay..." Kurow trailed.

"No... I found out who King Fury really is. It's Sugawara." The girl replied. "I saw it with my own eyes. it was him. I'm sure of it. But the scary thing is... he's supposed to be dead..."

Chibi nudged Li suddenly. _Hey, Sen and Ryo mentioned that name while you were passed out!_

"Okay, lady," Kurow said. "Just calm down and start from the beginning."

"King Fury, he's leading an army to the ruins." The lady informed them.

"...The ruins? Oh, you mean the place where I landed..." Kurow mused. "Yeah, so why's he wanna go there?"

"He and his army are searching for something, I think... But what it is they're looking for, I couldn't tell you. But more importantly, I left the famous inventor Gen there! He's in danger! I-I have to help him!" The scholar lady's shoulders drooped.

Lilac was suddenly made aware of the fact that there was ink dripping down her leg and that Chibi was staring at her expectantly.

_… What._

_C'monnn, Li, it's our jobbb..._

_WHAT HAPPENED TO SNEAKING OFF AND LETTING THIS CIRCUS ESCAPEE DO HIS OWN THING._

Chibi suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable, glancing over at Kurow for a moment and then back at Li.

_I was kidding._

_What?_

It's... probably not a good idea to keep letting him wander around by himself, that's all.

_Chibi._

Li narrowed her eyes at him.

_All right, all right, _He grumbled telepathically. The two subtly moved a bit further away from the main plot-related conversation. _… He's my brother, okay?_

"WHAT?!"

Kurow and the Scholar Lady turned to stare at Li. Her face went red.

"Ummmm... nothing happened. Go back to whatever you were talking about."

Mimiru was amused.

_Shut up._ Li sighed and turned back to Chibi. _What do you mean, he's your brother?_

Just hear me out, okay? I don't know how, but I just know that we're... yeah. 

"Ok, okay. So how about I go and find this Ben person for you?" Kurow said, cutting into the other two's thought conversation thing. He twirled his flute again.

The scholar lady sweatdropped. "...actually, his name is Gen, not Ben..."

_So wait, you know it and he doesn't? You said you'd lost most of your memory!_

… When? My memory's fine...

_… All right, maybe that was just my imagination._

"Ha ha! Same difference." Kurow stated, turning his head and putting one hand up. Actually he looked like a diva right then and there.

Chibi ignored the slightly secondhand conversation momentarily. _… Yeah, I don't know how we're related..._

Li just smacked her forehead.

"But that doesn't change the fact that a dude needs saving!" Kurow declared, striking a pose.

"B-But..." The scholar lady said. Stammered. Something.

"Don't worry about it, lady! Your beauty inspires me!" Kurow twirled his flute for the umpteenth time.

_I want my spearblade back I want my spearblade back I want my spearblade back COME ONNNN._

"I also had some stuff to do at those ruins, anyway." Kurow continued.

_All right, so we are getting dragged over there._

_Which completely contradicts our plan to drag HIM._

"...Okay then." The scholar lady finally agreed. "Please rescue Gen for me."

"Will do." Kurow nodded, then turned to Chibi and Li. "And you're coming with, okay? You're not the type of dog and girl that can ignore a lady's tears, are you?"

While Lilac went into what might have been a series of mental spasms, Chibi nodded.

_Yeah, sure, whatever._

"Good!" Kurow grinned. "We're gonna be a stellar trio, dudes!" Insert flute twirl here.

Li seemed to find her voice (and sanity) again. "... No. Just... no. Never try and say that again."

Kurow ignored her, looking at Chibi. "And since you need a name, I'll call you boy... ...Or dude. Whichever I'm in the mood for."

Now it was Chibi's turn to spazz.

_NO! NO NO NO! LILAC WHY DID YOU __**LET **__HIM?! YOU'RE BOTH __**TRAITORS**__!_

Li coughed loudly. "Technically he _does _have a name and it's Chibi."

"Yeah, whatever." Kurow waved a hand dismissively. He then proceeded to start laughing his weird whistle-y laugh at Chibi's reaction while the latter continued to spazz.

Chibi grabbed the back of Kurow's vest in his mouth, then threw the blond high in the air. Several seconds later, Kurow went into helicopter mode, twirling his flute rapidly to keep himself from going splat. (Much to Li's dismay.) He then proceeded to land on Chibi's back, playing his flute happily.

_Thiiiis is gonna be a long adventure,_ Chibi grumbled.

"Ya _think_?" Li sighed.

**0-0-0**

You know that thing when you think things can't get any worse and they do?

Fun times in Sei-An City, ladies and gentlemen.

A purple shadow (or maroon. Or indigo. Or magenta.) began sweeping through the Commoner's Quarter, effectively weakening any and all in its path.

"Yo, what's going on?" Kurow raised an eyebrow.

"One, never again. Two, I take back everything I said in Chapter 6."

"Chapter _what_?"

"Shut up, you weren't here." Li strode past Kurow to catch up with Chibi, who had already bounded over to one of the victims.

And suddenly what looked suspiciously like Dr. Redbeard's twin.

"I've never seen a disease spread so quickly," He noted. "They're all cold, like corpse cold."

_Everyone died?! _Chibi started having a panic attack.

_They're still breathing, Chibi._

_... Oh._

"You a doctor, dude? Why don't you help them?" Kurow asked.

"Don't you think I've tried that?!" _In the span of ten seconds? I doubt that._ "It's like they're not really sick."

Usually, in that sort of case, there was one of two things at work. Blight, which was (hopefully) impossible, or a curse.

And Lilac was starting to lean toward the second option.

"It's like they've been cursed by some back magic." The doctor continued.

As if on cue, the man on the ground started moaning hoarsely. "A black... shadow... I can't... move..."

Across the square, a suspiciously familiar cry rang out. "Mother! Father!"

Kagu rushed up to us, doubling over and gasping for breath. Li raised an eyebrow at Chibi.

_Oh, you missed it, didn't you? This is Kagu's dad._

... Thanks for telling me.

"Kagu!" The man wheezed. "Aren't you supposed to be in training?"

"I was-I mean, I still am." The Miko clarified. "But Miko Cho told me to come here and help everyone."

"How? Even the doctors can't help!" Lilac could've sworn Kurow rolled his eyes.

"This is the work of King Fury's." Kagu ignored him pointedly. _Smart move_, Chibi decided. "But since I have the power of a Miko..."

She pressed her hands together and began sparkling, radiating pure energy.

"Oh, Kagu..." Her father muttered. "Have you even had enough time to perfect your powers?"

_Yeah, we just left you about half an hour ago, _Chibi realized.

Kagu giggled. "Well, it turns out I'm a bit of a natural when it comes to that..."

Without red warning, a red ring of smoke formed around the Miko-in-training, and she collapsed to the ground. The smoke turned a muddy brown and ascended while Li reached for her spearblade and swore inwardly when her hand met the empty loop.

_WHY?!_

The smoke then formed a disembodied head.

Mask.

_... what the HELL is that?!_

"Hear me, little girl!" The mask's voice was like a mutated roar. It also sounded like he needed a cough drop. "At last you have awakened the Miko powers within you!"

_Stalker alert, _Lilac noted decidedly.

"So, as promised... I've come to make it mine!"

_Chibi._

Yes?

What did I miss?

I... don't remember... Anyway, that's King Fury.

Li raised an eyebrow and then turned to the disembodied mask. "... So. King Fury, huh."

"... Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, not really, it's just that there's a certain _catchphrase _I've neglected to hear from you, so... I'm gonna have to change that title to King Not-Enough-Fury for a while."

Everyone turned to stare at Li. Even King Fury himself stopped his tirade for a moment.

"All right, continue." Li shrugged. The demon muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _I don't understand humans _and then proceeded to snatch up Kagu.

_LI!_

_I didn't do anything!_

And then, without another word, King Fury up and left, leaving another crimson cloud in his wake.

Chibi barked twice, then hung his head. _... She's gone..._

"This looks hella bad!" Kurow burst out. Li resisted the urge to smack her forehead.

"I can't help these people if King Fury is to blame," Dr. Bluebeard (because that was obviously his name) pointed out. "Someone has to stop him or these people will die!"

Li rested a hand on Chibi's head. "This is our job," She whispered, and he nodded.

_Yeah. Yeah, it is. _Tears were starting to form in his eyes. _And even if it weren't, we're still going for Kagu._

"Don't worry, dude. We've got this guy." Kurow glanced at us. "Right, you two?"

"Definitely." Li nodded, along with Chibi. Satisfied, our partner turned back to the doctor.

"Hey, doc! You do what you can for these people."

"Do what I can? Okay, I know! I can make sure no one else touches those nasty shadows."

Li clapped her hands together. "Kurow, catch a ride with Chibi. I'm right behind you two, because we have a coast to save." _Again._

Kurow jumped on Chibi's back. "Then let's make tracks for those ruins!"

"Kagu... My daughter. Please help her." Kagu's father wheezed.

"Don't worry! We're on it." Kurow grinned. "You just relax, and... um... think happy thoughts, okay?"

Li rolled her eyes.

And with that, the trio took off to save the day in Ryoshima Coast.

_Fun times, _Lilac thought with an inward groan.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_And with that, we've finally finished up this chapter!_

_... Really I don't have that much to say. Fingers are crossed that I can pound out the next chapter by this upcoming Satuday, but if I can't, rest assured it won't be two months before I get it out this time._

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **Gods Make Magnets Work!  
**_

**Kurow: So review, everyone!**

Lilac: *buries face in hands* When are we getting rid of him, again?

Tsuki: *flipping through script* Uhh... not for a long while...

**Lilac: Fuuuuuuuuuuu-**


	16. Gods Make Magnets Work

_Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another chapter of your least favorite story on this archive, Closer to the Rising Sun!_

No. Stop clapping. I did NOT signal for applause.

_In any case, yes, I'm back on some sort of update schedule, and believe me when you say it's going to get better as long as Thanksgiving break goes as planned. From here on out it's going to be a full-blown run to amass as many words as possible whilst still doing the same cheap writing I always give you all, and then hitting the finish line and going on hiatus for nine months._

_It will be glorious._

_Thanks to **Daughter of Kabegami, TheManWithBacon, **and **Guest **for reviewing!_

_Meanwhile, chapter. Right. We're giving this one to Kurow._

**Lilac: ...**

**Kurow: ...**

**Lilac: What? She said you get to do it.**

Kurow: You're giving me that look that generally says 'I want to kill you'.

**Lilac: No I'm not.**

**Kurow: Uh-huh... Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den and owns only her OCs.**

**0-0-0-0-0**

_It's DARK in here, _Chibi complained after five minutes spent in the Underground Ruins.

"Yeah, well, what did you expect?" I grumbled, trailing behind the other two as per usual.

"It's because most of the lights have died out. Not all of 'em, but most." Kurow pointed out, walking up to a wall and tapping one of the light veins. "See? Some of them are still transmitting energy."

"Thank you for the science lesson _we didn't need_."

"Dude, you're welcome."

Chibi let out a groan and kept walking ahead of us. _Hey, guys? Dead end up here, unless we want to get shocked to death. And there's a locked door we don't have a Bead Key to on the other side._

"We got a cliff," I called, promptly shoving Kurow off. He hovered in front of me, scowling.

"Seriously. It doesn't work."

"I'm allowed to dream."

Chibi came back over while Kurow headed to the other side. And Greensprout happened.

And for the second time this plot arc I landed flat on my face.

"I swear to your mother if that happens one more time-" I began. Chibi just gave me his puppy eyes and I let out a groan.

Meanwhile, Kurow was bending over and staring at my face intently.

"Get. Out. Of. My-"

"Ha! I knew it!" He snapped his fingers and drew back. "Dude, have you seen her right eye?"

"What happened to my eye?" I pushed myself up so I was supporting myself on my knees.

"It's not _what happened_, it's _what it is._" He grinned broadly. Chibi stared at me for a second.

_What is that...?_

"What is WHAT?!"

"You have the winged crystal imprinted on your eye. It's hard to see out there in the daylight since your eyes are already so light, so I wasn't sure, but now that it's darker it's shining clear as day." Kurow pointed out.

"I have the _what _on my eye?"

"It's the symbol of the Storm Tribe. You didn't know?" He crossed his arms. "The people that ruled this coast six hundred years ago, got wiped out, ruins over in South Coast haunted by them?"

"I know _that._" I snapped, getting back on my feet. "Why would I have the Storm Tribe symbol? A-hey, wait, how would _you _know what the Storm symbol is?"

"Because I'm smarter than you."

"I call absolute-"

Mimiru coughed pointedly in the back of my mind.

I shut up.

"And anyway, I don't know _why _you would, but obviously it means you've got some sort of connection to them." Kurow's eyes lit up and he grinned. "So you're just like me!"

_Uh, Kurow? I doubt that. _Chibi noted cautiously.

"I mean, I have-" He cut himself off. "... Actually, it can wait. C'mon, we have to get moving."

"Ohhh no you don't!" I forced myself to keep pace with him. "What do you mean, _just like you_?"

_Guyyys! Wait UP! _Chibi complained from several steps behind.

"I never said anything," Kurow said cheerfully.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that?"

"Yeah, but I'm still not telling you anything right now. Hey, look," He changed the subject, "someone put a signboard in here."

"Must've been Issun." I muttered, shaking my head. "I can almost understand everywhere else we've found them, but how did he know we'd be coming down here?"

I glanced at it for a second and turned back to Kurow.

"... I'm pretty sure we already knew this."

"What's it say?"

"Something we already know." I told him dully as Chibi ran up and started slashing projectiles. We both turned around to look at him and with a dull thud from somewhere below, the two statues on the wall were gone.

_Got 'em!_

"Told you." I told Kurow.

He made a face at me. "Yeah, then _you _go over there and hit that switch."

"_WHAT!?_"

Chibi brightened. _Hey, that's a good idea!_

"Not you, t-"

"You have to _pull your weight around here, _Li."

"You are _not _using my own attempt to get rid of you against me."

"Now I am!" He shoved me onto the narrow path and I stumbled, barely catching myself.

_Oh god oh god oh god no no no no why is this happening..._

Slowly, carefully, I tried to right myself. _One foot in front of the other. Come on... come o-_

A bit of rusted metal came off the pathway and I stifled a shriek.

_Are you sure we should've made her do it? _Chibi asked Kurow.

"She'll be fine."

It had seemed impossible, but for once I could say I'd never hated him more.

Finally, I stumbled across the pathway and hit the switch, stepping on it as hard as I could. "There! And I'm _not coming back over there again!_"

"Suit yourself, dude." Kurow shrugged and floated off. Chibi giggled.

_Bye, Li! _And he followed.

"Wait-son of a..." I bit my lip and started back across as quickly as possible without falling. Surprisingly, there were less mishaps that way.

"GUYYYSSSSS!"

I came into an empty room with a possessed chest in the middle.

"... CRAP."

And so I had to spend five minutes grumbling to myself before the other two came back.

"Hey, you caught up!" Kurow clapped.

_Way to face your fears, Li! _Chibi cheered.

"I hate you both," I decided, throwing open the chest and snatching up the key. "Now are we _going _or not?"

**0-0-0**

_Guys! Guys guys guys!_

Ten minutes later, we seemed to be getting somewhere.

"What, Chibi."

_..._

"..."

_We're on a BRIDGE, you guys!_

I smacked my palm to my forehead while Kurow groaned. "Dude... it's not that great. It's just a-"

_It's a BRIDGE!_

"That's nice, bridge boy." I sighed, then stopped with one hand on the railing. "... Kurow?"

"Yea-oh." He seemed to finally notice the rubble surrounding a _rocket _(Nippon's lack of logic had struck again) in the corner of the room. "Oh, dude, I almost forgot about that."

"Forgot?!"

"... So you two know that shooting star everyone's talking about?"

"Which makes you 'everyone'." I muttered.

"Yeah, this is it." Kurow floated forward a bit. "This was my ride, dude."

"... What."

"I had to come here at 'the appointed time'. At least, that's what they told me." He shrugged.

Chibi, meanwhile, was absolutely lost.

"... There's something you guys need to know." He turned around to face us. "You know how I don't look like I'm from around here? It's 'cause I'm part of the Moon Tribe."

_The what? _I couldn't tell if Chibi was feigning innocence or not, all things considered.

Kurow pointedly ignored him. "I've just been traveling the world since I got here. That's what they told me to do. They said my true duty would be revealed while I was out and about."

_And who's 'they'? _Chibi tried again. And was ignored. Again.

"I have no idea what they meant by 'appointed time', so I'm just having fun." Our partner shrugged again. "You know why? Because I'm just like a baby taking his first steps. You dig?" He let out a laugh that almost sounded forced.

I deadpanned. "Uh, _no._"

"... All right, come on, we need to go." Kurow got serious again. "We still need to find King Fury."

"Now you're just dodging back out of the subject!" I snapped, marching back up to him. "So what if I have the _Storm _Tribe symbol? How does that make me like you?"

Kurow whirled around to look at me. "All right, dude, just look at my eye."

"What's wrong with _your_-oh." In his right eye, almost glowing in the dim light of the ruins, was a symbol.

"That's the Moon Tribe symbol. I never met anyone else like me that had the symbol on their eye, and then you've got the Storm symbol on yours. Dude, maybe we're like, messengers of the tribes or something." He grinned.

"I doubt that." I muttered. His face fell.

"Yeah, well, believe what you want, but I think we're connected somehow."

_Guys? _Chibi interrupted. _Evil demon king somewhere in these ruins that we're supposed to be saving Gen and Kagu from?_

"He's right." I started walking ahead. "We need to get a move on."

And what better way to do so than...

A _montage_?

Senom cackled in the background.

**0-0-0**

_Hey guys, I got a new brush power!  
_

"Magnets. Really. I've given up on trying to make sense out of Nippon."

"Dude, we're in a spaceship manufactured by the Moon Tribe. It's not so much Nippon as the moon, you know."

"Whatever."

"Sweet, I have wings now!"

_That's nice, Kurow._

"... You guys do realize that attacking the keyboard at random isn't going to fix the computer, right?"

"All right, then, genius, _you_ try to fix it!"

"Are you kidding? One, it's the screen that's broken, and two, _I can't read any of this_!"

_... Yeah, it's not coming back._

The montage abruptly ended as we headed up the stairs past all the other monitors (Kurow reading off some of what could still be deciphered as we went) and stopped at a room that was impassable.

Seriously.

"... So I don't think any of us can get over that electricity," I began slowly. Kurow shrugged.

"I think all the lightning is concentrated here." He pointed out. I crossed my arms.

"Pretty clever... We can't get any further unless we can dispell it."

"Yeaaaah... we're not going this way." Our partner decided. "In order to turn off the electricity, we gotta stop the lightning. So we should leave here and find a way to get to those clouds."

_Then let's go back the way we came, _Chibi pointed out. _We're not going to get anywhere from in here._

And thus we hauled ass back outside.

"So... now we just have to get to those clouds, right?" Kurow asked. Without waiting for an answer, he grinned. "No sweat for yours truly! We'll just use those wings we found in the ruins!"

"Yeah, there's sort of a _flaw_ with that plan." I crossed my arms. "You _might _be able to carry Chibi up there-key word being _might_-"

_HEY!_ Chibi complained. _Are you calling me fat!?_

"No. No, I'm not. Anyway, you can probably get Chibi up there, within a reasonable margin of error, but what the hell am I supposed to do?"

There was a brief silence.

"... Dude, I think you're going to have to stay behind." Kurow finally muttered.

"WHAT?!"

_Li, it'll be okay! We'll be back before you know it. _Chibi tried to reconcile.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" I grumbled. "It's not like I can just hang out in Sei-An..."

"No, probably not." Kurow thought a minute, then threw his hands up. "I got nothing. Go fight some demons or... something." Hurriedly, he ascended a good twenty feet in the air and came back down with his wings on. "C'mon, dude, let's hit it!"

"Son of a- HEY!" Kurow swooped down and grabbed Chibi, then started flying off. "That's not FAIR is what that is! Come on, you two, don't just leave me here-"

I cut myself off with a groan.

"Ugghhh... _boys..._"

I spun on my heel and started walking off, ignoring several distant shouts of distress from above.

"They'll be fine. The _nerve _of some people..."

**0-0-0**

Generally when left alone in the southern half of Nippon during the course of Okamiden, you have one of three options. You can go sidequesting, which quite frankly involved too much time being spent talking to people and was automatically marked off the list. You can go demon-hunting, which was debatedly my second choice. You can also just sit around and twiddle your thumbs.

Thankfully, with the addition of Kaihinmura, I had a fourth option that was preferable to all three.

And that was how I ended up wandering past Ankoku Temple humming Lion and keeping an eye out for the cave that led behind the waterfall.

"Come on, come on, come on..." I muttered, running a hand across the cliff-face and finally coming to a stop before the gaping, wide-open mouth of the tunnel.

I had never really paid much attention to the pathway, laid thick with crystals protruding from the walls, and an oddly cold wind blowing from inside. It wasn't a bitter cold, but almost... welcoming. It felt like the best of autumn, before things get too cold but while everything's definitely cooling off.

I took the first step into the cave and felt like I was being embraced by the breeze.

It felt, for the first time in seven years, like I was in a place to call home.

I heard the lullaby again, faintly, from the end of the tunnel.

The second step.

I slowed my pace to try and figure out where I changed. I was still a childlike Sayuri in appearance by the sixth step.

A little slower.

All at once, I felt it-like I was walking through a veil. As it slipped past me, I whirled around.

The entire way I'd just come from was dyed red with blood.

"What the hell...?" My voice was mine again. My body, mine.

I whirled around and started running, but the farther I came down the tunnel, the more horrifying things became. I didn't remember it being this long. The lullaby had become a warped and static-filled series of screams. Every step I took left a footprint in blood.

"What the hell is going on? EMIL!"

Somewhere up ahead, I saw the mist flowing out from the ruins of the village. _Oh, thank Ammy herself, I'm almost there..._

I broke through the fog, through the opening of the tunnel, and had to hold back a scream.

This wasn't the ruins of a village.

This was the _destruction _of a village.

Buildings that had been ash earlier had risen back up and were ablaze. Shadows that weren't quite people flickered here and there, screams bouncing off every deteriorating wall.

I froze in my tracks.

_Is this... the destruction of Kaihinmura?_

"Frostbite, MOVE!"

Something pushed me to the ground and with a flash of steel, I was sprayed with black blood.

Demon blood?

_Demons don't bleed, they just get exorcised... _My eyes widened as I stared up at Emil, the same black liquid dribbling down his face, his arms, soaking his clothes. He looked terrifying in the fire light, eyes alight with the same inferno that was raging around us. He dropped his sword and took my hand, pulling me to my feet.

"You shouldn't have come here."

"Emil, _what the hell is going on_?!" I demanded. He shook his head and planted his hands on my shoulders.

"She's in _that _stage of revival."

"What revival? Wh-"

"Sayuri's dreams are becoming a reality around us. It's real, it's dangerous, and it may not be spreading past the tunnel but anyone who sets foot in Kaihinmura right now is demon food." He gestured around us. "I don't know when it'll stop. All I know is that you need to get out of here before you get ki-"

"I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself. Besides, I don't have anything else to do right now." I told him firmly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you, I don't know, babysitting the god of the sun?"

"Not babysitting. Accompanying. And he's off doing something else, and until he comes back, I have nothing better to do than make sure my ancestor doesn't get his ass handed to him."

Emil stared at me for a moment, emerald locked on lavender, before nodding and picking his sword back up.

"Then I'm going to give you a job to do before you do anything else. Make tracks for her remains, and I mean _yesterday. _Don't stop to gawk at the pretty fire, don't stop to try and take on any demons. If they come after you, _run. _You'll find a spearblade there, and Dreamcatcher's yours. Then come back and find me." He pointed to what might have been a path to the main area of the town at one point. "You're headed that way. Don't worry, you'll find her. Now go and don't look back!"

He shoved me to give me a running start, and I heard him slashing at more demons as I dashed through the flames.

_It all feels so real..._

_This is her memory...?_

Another scream that sounded completely human sounded to my right and up ahead. I glanced over as I headed past-a shadow of a woman curled up with a child.

"_This isn't right! We were righting our sins when we sacrificed that girl, weren't we?!"_

_"The Junk Heap Girl was supposed to give us a year of peace... she was cursed!"_

"Why can't the gods hear us?!"

I felt something stinging at my eyes as I ran. Tears. Tears for those who had been obliterated here.

But if the Storm Tribe died here...

... what had happened to Sayuri?

No, she had drowned. But if she had drowned to her death... was that the sacrifice? Someone had tossed her off Watcher's Cape, thinking it would right their sins?

What sins?

"What the HELL is going on here?!" I ground out, sliding to a stop at a more open area. "Sayuri, where _are _you?"

And then, I heard it-a crystallic sound, like someone ringing a bell.

Her crystallized form was right in the middle of the inferno.

_Don't stop to gawk at the pretty fire._

I heard a bloodcurdling shriek and whirled around to get smacked in the face by an Imp flute. I collapsed to the ground, inches from the inferno.

_... Am I going to die here? In her memory?_

Something caught my eye on the ground next to me. Something suspiciously familiar in form, but not in design.

I snatched the spearblade up off the ground and got to my feet, running one hand over the wood. It felt perfect in my hands. Like I could definitely fight with it.

_Now we're talking._

I slashed at the Green Imp and started making a mad dash for the way I'd come, slashing at anything that got in my way. Something was coursing through my veins-adrenaline? It felt like I was _powerful _for once.

"Watch where you're going, Frostbite!" Emil laughed, stepping out of the way as I slid to a stop-and nearly ran into him. "That didn't take long."

"Yeah, well." I twirled Dreamcatcher in one hand and stood behind him. "So we just keep fighting until it ends?"

"Yeah, it looks that way." He nodded, holding his sword up. "And for the Great Storm's sake, Frostbite?"

"Yeah?"

"Question time's at the end, okay? So don't die and we'll get to 'em."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_In which we cover a lot of ground and yet not much at all!  
_

_... I have legitimately nothing to say in this A/N now._

**Emil: I've got this, I've got this.**

Lilac: Oh HELL no. You know who needs to do a review request? Mimiru.

**Mimiru: *lowers book that looks suspiciously like Grimoire Weiss* What?**

Tsuki: Nope, nope, nope! Boss rule, Li!

Lilac: But she's not a-

**Tsuki: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN we are closing this show out for the night! *pulls cord and curtain falls, despite loud protesting from half the cast* And with that, please review and have a nice life!**


	17. The Twisted Truth

_Hello, one and all, and welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun!_

In this chapter, we have... uh... for the most part unplanned plot exposition.

Whoopsies.

_But there's a twist that makes it different from every OTHER time: This is stuff you guys wouldn't have been able to figure out yet! 8D_

*smacked with frying pan*

**Lilac: ... I'll take charge of thanking reviewers if you do the disclaimer.**

**Mimiru: Deal.**

**Lilac: Ahem. Thanks to _Daughter of Kabegami _and _TheManWithBacon_ for reviewing, your support is appreciated, etc. etc. etc. Mimiru, let's start the show.**

**Mimiru: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den and owns only her own OCs.**

**0-0-0-0-0**

It ended as quickly as it had begun, according to Emil.

The inferno, the twisted shrieks of agony, the black blood sprayed all over the ground... it all gave way to the mists of time, regaining its hold over Kaihinmura. I almost fell back against him from exhaustion, somehow staying on my feet and then just collapsing on my knees.

"Is it over?" I groaned, turning and laying back on the sand. Emil sheathed his scrimitar, letting out a long breath.

"Yeah. Fun times, eh, Frostbite?"

"Whatever."

He shook his head and knelt down next to me. "You held up pretty well, Frostbite. Not bad."

"I've been hardened by adventure." I glanced at my left arm, bandaged and bloody. "So this form I have in Kaihinmura is from right when I left Nippon, right?"

"Assumedly." Emil shrugged. "I didn't know you then-you tell me."

"This cut on my shoulder. I got it from Oni Island, which was about a day or two before the end." I traced my fingers over the source of the bleeding. "It feels like it's still healing again."

"Sorry to hear that. You'll live through it." The village guardian extended a hand. "Well, Frostbite, get on up. I think you're due back out of here."

"Chibi and Kurow can _not _be done yet." I rolled my eyes, accepting his hand and getting to my feet. Emil shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm just praying Sayuri's nightmares don't come back around here while you're in the area. I can handle it here, but you'd best be getting out before you get hurt."

"Get out and then do what?" I sighed.

Emil threw his hands up. "Don't look at me. Go train with that new spearblade of yours."

My eyes snapped up to him. "So it's mine now?"

"Sayuri's to yours." He nodded. "Take care of Dreamcatcher, you hear? You handled yourself pretty well with it, but-"

"I'll be fine." I shook my head and slid the spearblade through my belt loop where Third Tempest had been. "I guess I'll just follow your advice, then."

"Good plan." Emil gave me a thumbs up. "See you around, Frostbite."

I waved and then hightailed it out of Kaihinmura, through the cave and out into Ryoshima Coast. The air felt heavy somehow, like something was coming.

"The boys can't be back yet." I muttered, slowing my pace considerably. "Maybe I'll go hang out on Watcher's Cape or something..."

And so I did.

As soon as I hit Watcher's Cape, I caught a glimpse of something on the horizon. Clouds, swirling around... something.

"Holy crap, so that's what a storm looks like from a distance... Small storm," I realized, squinting out at it.

Wait a second.

A storm?

Heading for Ryoshima Coast?

I crouched down, blocking the sunlight out of my eyes and trying to get a proper glimpse of it. Yeah, that was a storm all right, but it also didn't look like one.

_There's a storm headed straight here._

And suddenly, it clicked.

"Oh, _shit._" I swore, ignoring all the work I'd done trying not to, and leapt to my feet.

The two in Kaihinmura were calling up a storm.

_For the love of the Great Storm-_

What they called a 'Great Storm'.

That didn't mean anything good.

I turned on my heel to dash back to Kaihinmura, and made it all the way to the cave-

-and it was blocked off.

"What the HELL!?" I slid to a stop. It was as if rocks had fallen in front of the entrance, but when could _that _have happened?

"He blocked me out of there on purpose." My hands curled into fists. "Fantastic."

_It wasn't about your safety. _Mimiru seemed to be in a good mood. _It's about their plan._

"Sayuri and Emil are _not _the villains." I snapped out loud. "That's a load of _crap _is what it is!"

I felt myself being pulled down into her domain and didn't even fight it. The manifestation looked wraithlike, powerful, but made no move to injure me or start a fight. She had no weapon but her words.

"Then you tell me what the Great Storm is, Lilac." Mimiru stood up, crossing the chessboard floor and standing a space away from me. "Oh, wait, you wouldn't know, would you?"

She summoned a tome into her hand and flipped through it, then smirked.

"But I would. A shame that the Storm Tribe tool wouldn't."

"Tool?!" I snatched for the book, but Mimiru held it out of my reach.

"An agent of the Sisters Fate knows." She let go of the tome and it hovered in the air, flipping through pages on its own. "The Great Storm. That hasn't happened in centuries, has it? Six, I think."

I paled as the manifestation folded her hands behind her back and recited off history I hadn't even known existed.

"The Great Storm was a hurricane raised by the People of the Storm, who dwelled on the Northern half of Ryoshima Coast six hundred years ago." She began. "They had one pact with the other people of South Coast, and one pact only-once a year, every July, in your months, one child would be sacrificed to the gods to make up for their sins against each other. There was a catch-each tribe chose that child and gave them to the other tribe to murder in the dead of night."

I felt my breath catch in my throat, but Mimiru went on.

"Now, the Great Storm... oh, that was a special occasion. The Great Storm occured only thrice in Nippon's history, and every time it struck the coast, it obliterated Kaihinmura. After the first time, they rebuilt in the same place, but the second... they made that pact to switch territories with South. It didn't work, because the third time came and went... and the village was set aflame before the raging storm struck. It was never rebuilt, for without being able to escape their village first and not knowing until then that the storm would follow them... everyone was lost."

Mimiru paced back and forth, ignoring my expression. Or maybe savoring it. Probably the latter.

"But why would the Storm Tribe _call _such a storm, and how could they when there are none left?" Mimiru pretended to think about it. "Oh, wait... there is."

I backed up against the curtains, which abruptly became wall.

"You, the Storm Tribe tool." The manifestation took the book back into her arms. "Marked by their symbol on your eye. You exist to serve one purpose to them. Sad, isn't it?"

I gritted my teeth. "You're full of shit."

"Oh, a mark on the eye... doesn't that sound familiar?" Mimiru paused. "The Moon Tribe boy must be a tool of theirs, too."

Something tightened in my chest and without thinking, I rushed forward and tried to hit her. Mimiru stepped back, and I collapsed on the floor. _Damn her..._

"Two tools of the tribes. Isn't that dramatic? But I know what happens to tribe tools, because they do happen more often than you think." Mimiru leaned over. "Do you want to know?"

I glared up at her, teeth still gritted.

"A tool's task is to do what someone else cannot be wasted for. They choose the least valuable being available, and if there are none... they create them. Or, in this case, choose one from much later in that Parallel's timeline. Who's going to care about someone from a different part of the timeline, someone who no one knows?"

"So Kurow's from later in this timeline?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Or the first option. Interesting how that works." Mimiru shrugged. "But the beginning doesn't matter, because at the end, every tool meets the same fate. They are chosen for their duty because when it ends, their lives cease to be."

My heart stopped in my chest. But for some reason, I didn't feel fear. No shock.

Just... rage.

I pushed myself back to my feet, the words leaving my mouth before I knew they'd formed. "So why are you out after me if I'm destined to die to begin with?"

Mimiru scowled. "Sayuri didn't just bend the rules-she shattered them. You were never supposed to exist to begin with. In every other Parallel, it's the same thing... Your grandmother jumps off the train with no god in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. In this Parallel, she survived and made it back to the new world to carry on the bloodline she'd been injected with."

My eyes narrowed as Mimiru gestured to the mirror. "Lily didn't even look the way she did in this timeline in the others. She was a mostly-innocent girl of Spanish descent who didn't even believe in the gods of this world." Sure enough, an image of a teenager with curly black hair blurred into view, throwing herself off the cliff edge.

It blurred again, and refocused on her corpse, sprawled across the bottom of the valley with unblinking eyes and blood coating the rocks. I felt like I was about to throw up as it misted back over and the manifestation turned back to me.

"Why would Sayuri choose _her?_ Because she would be forgotten. Because she would serve no purpose after a certain number of years had been spent in her life in the new world. Maybe she thought she was doing your grandmother a favor." Mimiru crossed her arms over chest. "But Lily served her no purpose. All she did... was hang back in the shadows and acquaint herself with the goddess and her companions."

My eyes widened as Mimiru pressed a hand against the glass. "The master plan wasn't even complete then. No, Lily wouldn't still be an ally, be so invaluable to them if Sayuri hadn't intervened further. The Great Storm wasn't to strike for another hundred years. So a future event was locked into motion... the event that would revive her so that she could go back in time and convince the goddess's alliance to accept Lily like an ally. But that deal also included one thing... a tool of the Storm Tribe would be chosen from a descendant of Lily's. A close descendant. Not the child, so that the bloodline could continue in the new world after all, but rather one of the two grandchildren.

"The deal," the manifestation continued, staring me dead in the symbol-embedded eye, "stated that the aforementioned descendant would be watched over by the goddess's alliance so that she would survive long enough for the Great Storm to strike. And upon that time, the body of the tool would be stolen. That tool would cease to be."

The twisted haven she had built in my mind fell silent. Surprisingly, I didn't feel shocked. No wonder my body had altered to Sayuri's appearance. No wonder Ammy and Waka had been so open to me joining the party, that I'd been practically babysat the whole way. No wonder that the miracle had occurred... Lily and I hadn't been brought to Nippon by some sort of chance. It hadn't been Lily who convinced Waka to help her bring me here.

Sayuri, imprisoned in her crystal form in Kaihinmura, had organized everything from the future. And at the same time, she'd been behind it from the start.

"And your job is to kill me before that happens." I finished. My throat felt dry and my heart was beating to get out of my chest with a sledgehammer.

"Half right. I have two choices." Mimiru's eyes were hazed over emotionlessly. "I can eliminate you before Sayuri takes over, or after and wipe her out with it. The second would be preferable, although originally I was intended firstly to kill _you_."

"So you're choosing to spare me until Sayuri takes over."

"Maybe. I'm still thinking about it." The manifestation shrugged. "But the interesting thing is, they made it work in a way that you really do serve a bit of an interesting purpose. You manipulate emotion and turn it into energy, and the little sun god personally looks up to you like an older sister. He's grown attached to you, and you to him."

I felt my arm shaking and steadied it with my other hand, leering into her cold gaze.

"Don't you _dare_ even try to bring Chibi into this, because he has nothing to do with it."

"And the fact that you crossed paths with the Moon Tribe tool, who Chibiterasu claims as his brother." Mimiru tilted her head. "I wonder what _his _purpose is?"

"You are going to shut the hell up. _Now_." I took a step back.

"Either way, you're both destined to die."

"SHUT UP!"

Mimiru finally fell silent. Black blood dripped from the ceiling, pooling on the floor.

"_How does it feel to know you've been betrayed this whole time?_"

And just like that, I was standing in front of the blocked-off cave again. Mimiru didn't say anything else, and I quite frankly had nothing else to say to her.

I pressed my hand against the wall of rocks, teeth gritted. I felt something warm slide down my face. Tears.

"You didn't tell me one thing," I said softly. "Why is she trying to come back to life to begin with?"

But there was no answer.

For the first time since I'd come to Nippon nine months ago, I felt really and truly alone.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_AWMAHGAWD THE SUSPENSE AND DRAMA HOW WILL YOU EVER LIIIIIIIIIIVE?!_

**Lilac: Shut. Up.**

_Fine, whatever. _

_Next time on Closer: **Racing Against Time**! We take a step back into the actual plot for a bit to wrap up our business in the Underground Ruins Depths, albeit not without being under pressure._

**Chibi: I haven't been around for a chapter in a half, so REVIEW! 8D**

Lilac: ... at least it wasn't Kurow this time.

**Kagu: LITTLE HELP OVER HERE?**

**Lilac: Nah, she's fine.**


	18. Why Isn't There an Instruction Manual!

_All RIGHT everyone, welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun! This chapter, we're finishing up the Underground Ruins!_

_... yeah that's about it. Thanks to _**Daughter of Kabegami **_and _**TheManWithBacon **_for reviewing!_

**Chibi: I wanna do a disclaimerrrrrr!**

Lilac: All right, all right already!

Chibi: 8D

Kurow: Hey, what about me?

Chibi: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den and only owns her OCs!

Kurow: ... dude, not cool.

**0-0-0-0-0**

"You _sure _you're okay, Li?" Kurow waved a hand in my face for the third time since we'd stepped back down into the Underground Ruins. I smacked it away, glowering at him. The symbol on his eye that _did _make him like me, in a horrific way.

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"You've been _just thinking _since we got back. Did something happe-"

"Drop it, Kurow."

"But-"

"_Drop it._" I pushed past him as we came up on the field of electricity that had blocked our path beforehand. "You guys sure that paddle is going to protect us from all this?"

_Drum,_ Chibi pointed out irritably, holding the 'gift' they'd gotten from the Thundercloud up in his mouth. Kurow grimaced and took it.

"It's gotten us this far through every other field, hasn't it? It might as well work now." He shook it back and forth a few times, letting the drumbeats ring out, and passed through. "C'mon, we gotta go find King Fury."

Chibi stepped through and I literally dashed through, turning just in time to see the drum going into a frenzy behind us.

"Too much for it, huh?" I shook my head. Kurow groaned.

"It got us across, didn't it? We'll just have to be more careful from now o-"

The drum then exploded.

_A lot more careful. _Chibi decided, then turned around and padded down the stairs behind us. Kurow grabbed hold of my sleeve as soon as we were left behind.

"Will you _let go_-"

"Something's been up with you." He narrowed his eyes. "What happened while we were gone, Li?"

"I said _nothing_!" I wrenched my arm out of his grasp. "I'm just a bit distracted and then you go and-" I let out a long breath between my teeth and headed down the stairs after Chibi. Kurow didn't exactly hear footsteps, but I could still hear him following.

"You were right."

"Huh?"

"When you said that we're the same." I came to the bottom of the stairs. "Let's leave it at that."

"Dude, what are you-"

We were both interrupted by a gust of wind and a door opening. Chibi turned back to glance at us.

_You guys coming still?_

"Yeah, we're coming."

Kurow shut up, but cast a weary glance at me.

"Drop it." I muttered again as we both trailed behind the young god.

"All right, all right." He grumbled back, sounding peeved himself at this point.

I felt slightly guilty.

Probably less than I should have.

And then Green Wildfire happened.

_GUYS. FAIRIES. _Chibi spazzed, rushing through the corridor and swinging his glaive all over the place. I kept pace, slashing Dreamcatcher left and right. I felt sick to my stomach about still wielding it, but what choice did I have?

Chibi skidded to a stop at the end of the hall and turned to Kurow. _... Why are there so many fans in this place?_

Kurow paused and then snickered. "Those aren't fans, they're generators. But yeah, they do act sorta like them..."

Chibi flicked his tail to redirect the wind and then dashed ahead again, but not before Kurow could reclaim jumping on Chibi's back and stick his tongue out at me.

It was going to be a long dungeon. Apparently Senom took this in stride, because she then proceeded to declare a timeskip had to be done.

"DAMMIT, SENOM-"

"Shhhhhh-h-h-h-h-h." The authoress hissed from her director's chair. "I have a _plaaaaaaan_."

"You always have a _plan _and it always _sucks_."

"Shut it, Li."

**0-0-0**

Roughly fifteen minutes later, we came up to a giant door.

"Do we need a key for this thing, orrrr..." I trailed off, staring up at it.

It really was a huge freaking door, laden with a symbol suspiciously like that of Kurow's eye-only in red.

Blood red.

I felt a shudder run through me as Kurow shook his head. "If we do, it'd be a really big key..."

As if on cue, it began to open.

And when I say began, I mean there were apparently three different sections to it as it opened.

_Was 'really big key' some sort of password? _Chibi tilted his head.

No one laughed. The door's final section finally opened with a loud, drawn out _creaaaaaaaak_, and then there was just this godawful smell.

"Sweet Amaterasu herself, what _is _that?" I covered my face with my sleeve, wincing. Kurow grimaced.

"That's King Fury's stench. I can tell."

"... _HOW?!_"

"This guy's on a whole 'nother level..." The Moon Tribe boy pointedly ignored me. "I didn't think he'd be so diesel..."

_One of these days, I'm giving that boy a dictionary. I thought that was a kind of gasoline, _I thought irritably.

Chibi glanced over at Kurow. _You're not scared, are you?_

"Whoa, boy, I'm not getting cold feet here or anything." Kurow forced a laugh.

"I dunno, you're wearing those sandals and all..." I trailed off. He rolled his eyes.

"We're a pretty dynamic trio, right? We can take him. So let's go do this!"

_All right!_

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

And then we headed through the big, scary, and ominous door.

... What, you thought we were done with making that joke?

Think again.

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'd been expecting through the door. A giant arena, maybe. That's what usually happened.

I don't think any of us were expecting what looked suspiciously like a Moon Tribe control room for something.

Or King Fury being pretty damn short.

_That's not King Fury. _Mimiru pointed out. _He's a little old man with a cog on his back, and he's not wearing Kingy's mask._

_... Kingy?_

_Don't ask._

"Yo... that's gotta be that Gen dude!" Kurow realized and floated over ."Yo! Gen!"

Gen turned around, looking slightly irritable but then just looking bemused. "Oh-oh-oh! You're... that boy from the shooting star! Never thought I'd be seeing you here."

"Aren't you famous," I muttered under my breath, coming over.

Kurow ignored that statement, surprisingly. "Yeah, what the heck are _you _doing here, anyway?"

The inventor shook his head. "The demons brought me here, forced me to fix this crazy machine."

There was a brief pause as the three of us glanced at each other. Kurow sweatdropped.

"... Do you _always _do what demons tell you?"

"Wh-what choice did I have?" Gen panicked. "Besides, I'm an inventor. I was intrigued by these contraptions. And now I've fixed them all. I just need to pull this lever, and-" He turned around to face the table he'd been pacing around several minutes ago. Just as he started reaching for it, Kurow got out his flute.

"No! Don't do it!"

Gen stumbled back to the floor. "Why, what's wrong?!"

"Stand aside." The Moon Tribe boy twirled his flute, a determined gleam in his eye. "I'm gonna trash it!"

_... Seriously? _Chibi shook his head. Kurow was having none of it, and dashed forward to break the lever-

-and then suddenly King Not-Enough-Fury.

This time, we were actually able to see his entire body. He looked _just a bit _too suspiciously like Waka, only a more evil version.

And-

_LI! _Chibi whirled around to face me, something clicking in his head. _I TOLD you not to jinx us and LOOK WHAT YOU DID!_

"It wasn't MY fault!" I protested.

Everyone else had the sense to ignore us.

"Great gears...! It's Sugawara!" Gen realized. Chibi and I whirled around, temporarily shutting up.

"It's who now."

"How is this possible?! He's dead!"

_Looks pretty alive to me, _Chibi decided. _And demonic._

"No, he's back." Kurow pushed himself back up off the floor, looking more than a bit miffed. "And he calls himself King Fury now."

"Ahem, King _Not-Enough-Fury,_" I reminded.

Said demonic overlord rightfully ignored us, descending and flipping the lever.

"Not good, dude..."

"... Oh. Whoops, we probably should've stopped him, huh."

"Oh, snap! It's gonna wake up!" He panicked as the structure around us began trembling.

_You mind telling us what you know that we don't?! _Chibi spazzed.

"What? What's going to wake up?" Gen asked at the same time.

"You've been fixing this thing and had NO CLUE WHAT YOU WERE FIXING?!" I whirled around to stare at him.

"Well, I-"

"It's a lunar giant." Kurow cut him off. "... It's Daidarabotchi."

_Daidawhat?_

Our partner continued panicking. "This is so not good...!"

King Not-Enough-Fury, meanwhile, turned back around to face us. "I will destroy you worthless humans down to the last child."

"_ExCUSE you!" _Chibi and I both yelled at the same time.

"... Chibi, you're a god, not a human."

_Well you're not exactly a child._

"Yeah, but I _am _still human."

_Kurow said you were Storm Tribe._

"Which doesn't change anything because they were just humans that called themselves that."

"You're a vile, abhorrent race," the current antagonist continued. "You all deserve the death that I give."

_You so jinxed us, _Chibi muttered.

_Well I didn't MEAN to!_

And with that, King Fury vanished in red smoke.

"... We're going after him." I got out Dreamcatcher, grasping it firmly in both hands. "_Now._"

"Yeah, that thing'll wipe out Ryoshima Coast and Sei-An City in a flash!" Kurow pointed out.

Gen began spazzing. "What should we do?!"

"Uh, _you_'ve done enough." I decided, spinning the little old man around by the shoulders and pushing him back toward the exit.

"Well... we _are _gonna get you the heck outta here." Kurow agreed. "Gen, go on ahead! There's a beautiful lady waiting at the entrance."

I facepalmed.

"And wh-what about you?" Gen sputtered as I continued steering him forcefully toward the door.

"We gotta take care of something first. Now go!" The Moon Tribe boy paused. "I made a promise to that lady. I told her I'd get you outta here!"

Gen paused while I kept silently urging him _WILL YOU JUST LEAVE ALREADY_. "... Okay. But be careful!"

"Yes, yes, we will, we're two kids and a wolf who are VERY well versed in saving the world, now get going." I gave him one last shove out the door and turned back to the other two.

"Now are we going to stop King Fury or not?"

_You didn't say Not Enough Fury._

"Oh, shut up."

Kurow headed over to the control panel and started entering some commands. "All right, that should do it." He stepped back as a blue light enveloped the three of us, and we landed in...

... the exact same room.

All right, it didn't have the control panel, so maybe it wasn't the same room.

And just up ahead was the giant form of Daidarabotchi.

"Well." I stared up at it as we came out into the room. "He _is _a lunar giant."

Kurow rolled his eyes. "The controls are on top of Daidarabotchi's head. There should be a way to stop it or something from there."

I glanced at him. "You know a lot about this thing."

"I'm Moon Tribe, remember?" He shrugged. "Of course I do. Plus, only someone from the Moon Tribe can control it..."

_... meaning you. _Chibi finished, nodding. _So what are we waiting for?_

Kurow then proceeded to get his wings out. "I'll just, like, fly up there and put an end to this!"

"Seems a bit _too _convenient if you ask m-"

_LI. WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT JINXING US._

"Sorrrryyyyy!"

Meanwhile, Kurow had already started his ascent... only to be stopped by King Not Enough Fury.

"No, I don't think so!" He rumbled.

"Told you."

_LI!_

Kurow might have said something, but it was drowned out by him getting hit with a burst of lightning.

He just _conveniently _happened to land on me.

"Get. Off."

_Are you okay? _Chibi panicked, dashing over.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kurow pushed himself back up to his feet. "Well, so much for flying, eh?"

"Are there any _other _ways up?" I raised an eyebrow, dusting off my skirt.

"Daidarabotchi has a system designed so that we should be able to get inside and up, then come out at the top..." Kurow thought for a minute, then jumped on Chibi's back. "C'mon, dude, we need to get moving up there."

And so we did.

Completely ignoring the suspenseful dash up the giant lunar contraption in which King Not Enough Fury kept trying to hit us with lightning, the fact that Daidarabotchi had _trampolines on the inside, _and basically a lot of unnecessary swearing on my part.

Fun times.

Anyway, we made it to the top and Kurow instantly made for the controls. "Finally, we made it!"

"THIS THING HAS TRAMPOLINES ON THE INSIDE. _TRAMPOLINES._"

_You should've been with us in the Thundercloud._

While our partner commenced to try and work at the controls, King Not Enough Fury reemerged.

"You meddling brat!" He hissed, releasing more lightning at Kurow. It was enough to knock him away from the control panel, but he wasn't stopping there.

Something in the back of my brain clicked. A memory of too close of a call.

Chibi began to leap at King Fury, but I held out a hand to stop him-a hand already sparking with blue flames.

"_HALT!_"

Everything froze around us. Everything was still, silent, except for Chibi, Kurow and I.

"I can't hold him long enough for you to get at the controls," I bit my lip, trying to keep focus, "but I _can _do this."

And then, with everything I had, I launched Dreamcatcher at King Fury right as Halt wore off. He lost his focus, the lightning dying away and my spearblade landing with a clatter back on the metal.

There was a brief silence.

"Child of the Sun!" He finally spat out, as if I'd never attacked. "Why?! Why do you help these humans?!"

I snatched Dreamcatcher back up off the floor, holding it at the ready. Chibi's eyes narrowed.

_He knows who I am._

"Chiisaki Taiyo." I muttered.

"They... they are despicable!" King Fury continued. "They steal! They murder! They betray each other! They are a loathsome species!"

My grip on my spearblade tightened.

"Their only virtue is that they die so easily!"

"That is a load of CRAP!" I snapped just as Kurow got back up to his feet.

"... Mr. Sugawara?" He spoke up. Trembling still, I stepped back to let him take over. "Look, I don't have enough friends to have ever been betrayed... but I kinda get where you're coming from, dude."

The memory of Mimiru revealing that every bond I had forged here aside from those I'd forged with our partners snapped back in my mind like a rubber band and I gritted my teeth, trying to force it back out.

"And I do know this... Humans ain't half as bad as you make 'em out to be."

I turned to glance at him as he continued. "I know you had some rough times, and I feel for ya, dude, but... not all humans are half bad once you give them a chance."

_Like you._ Chibi said softly.

_What's that supposed to mean?_

He didn't reply.

"Mr. Sugawara..." Kurow spun his flute once. "You are _so _wrong on this."

"_SILENCE!_" King Fury roared. "Enough! _Enough _of your lies! You understand NOTHING!"

"Emotion can screw a person up," I muttered, but the wheels in my head were turning. I could have become this. No, I still _could_ if at the wrong moment, I got set off. Why _wasn't _I mad about the fact that I'd been fooled into believing I mattered?

_It's because you do._

I whirled around to face Chibi as he gave me a wolf-like grin.

"You weren't supposed to hea-"

_C'mon, Li. Let's save Ryoshima Coast. The three of us._

I turned back to look at King Fury, rage twisting whatever, whoever he had once been.

"Yeah," I decided, "the three of us."

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: King Fury**

Kurow dashed back over to the control panel. "I can stop Daidarabotchi from going buck wild-if I can keep at the controls! You two are gonna have to hold off King Fury while I do that!"

I glanced at Chibi and nodded. "We've got your back."

Kurow flashed us a thumbs up as Chibi and I stood back-to-side again. "So," I muttered, "what's the plan?"

_We were supposed to have a plan?_

"Exactly."

Chibi rolled his eyes and readied Tsumugari. _How about hack, slash, and cheat?_

I slid out an Exorcism. "Oh, I _like _this plan."

_Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go!_

And thus Chibi began hacking and slashing and I began cheating.

By which I mean using Exorcisms.

King Fury finally seemed fed up and rose up a good few yards above Kurow and the control panel. "Oh, this is so not good," Our partner grumbled and glanced over at Chibi. "Dude, I need you to guide me up to King Fury! And I need it done yesterday!"

And so he did.

"You don't even have the power to lay one finger on me!" King Fury declared as Kurow came up next to him.

"Ha! I don't _need _to touch you, dude!" He withdrew his pendant. "My pendant can suck the demonic power right out of you!"

And just like he'd said, the maroon smoke surrounding the demon king became absorbed by his pendant.

_… Well that was anticlimactic._

He then collapsed to the ground.

"The demonic aura that was protecting him is gone." Kurow descended, back to working at the controls. "Now's your chance!"

"We know what that means." I slid out my shiny and somewhat-new Exorcism Slip F purchased several chapters ago and let it fly.

… It didn't do much damage, but it WAS satisfying.

Apparently I'd just screwed us over, because as soon as King Fury recovered from his little fit he rose back up into the air and summoned...

_Hey, wait a second, those Exorcism Slips are Kagu's! _Chibi realized.

"He said he took her Miko powers..." I muttered. "I guess we shouldn't have thought he wouldn't use them against us."

Chibi growled, flicked his tail once, and sent two of the slips right back at King Fury.

Hilariously enough, they actually hit him square in the face and knocked him back.

Meanwhile, Kurow panicked. "Dude, not cool! Daidarabotchi's moving!" He called as he was swatted away from the controls. "Little help over here?"

"You're THREE STEPS AWAY from those controls, why can't _you _get back over to them?!"

Chibi just shook his head, dashed back over, and carried Kurow the three steps back to his original position while King Fury rose back up behind me.

"Aww, hell," I muttered, whirling around and readying Dreamcatcher as I was thrown back by a blast of electricity. "Okay, next time, can I be put on 'drag Kurow back to the controls' duty?"

Chibi dashed up in front of me, growling, and unleashed an Exorcism that he'd apparently been keeping for himself. _Sure._

"Alrighty, thanks." I climbed back up to my feet while our opponent began stealing Kagu's attack again.

"... Well, at least it can't get any worse, right?"

And as if on cue, he freaking _multiplied._

"SERIOUSLY?!"

_Li, STOP JINXING US._

"I'M NOT TRYING TO."

So after fending off _two _King Furys at once, he _finally _gave up. Behind him in midair, surrounded by what looked like the last of his demonic aura, was Kagu.

And then the barrier around her disappeared and this thing we call _gravity _happen. Chibi dashed forward and broke her fall.

"Well, at least she didn't hit the floor," I pointed out.

Kagu just moaned something incoherent.

"Good, she's still alive and kickin'," Kurow decided. "Now I just gotta stop the big guy here."

"You might want to hurry."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." He worked at the controls for a few more minutes, then paused. "This should do it. Time to shut down, dude!"

He hit what might have been the enter key.

I glanced up at the ceiling, which was still approaching at an alarming rate. "Kurow? That MIGHT have been the wrong button!"

"No, it was the right one- oh." He looked up. "It was the right one, but... uhh... you guys could've beaten down King Fury a bit faster..."

Thankfully, Daidarabotchi's giant freaking ears hit the surface first, so we didn't actually get crushed by the ceiling as we broke the surface. And finally, the lunar giant's ascent drew to a halt.

Chibi suddenly dashed off to the middle of the arena. _Li, watch Kagu for a second._

"Wait, what are y-"

He skidded to a stop and unleashed a howl of epic proportions, complete with cherry blossom petals and the general prettiness.

Moving on.

_All right, I'm done. _He turned back around and gave us a wolfish grin. _And hey, we did it! Ryoshima Coast is SAVED!  
_  
I glanced up at the sky, up at the sun beating down on us, and almost began to agree. But then I looked back out toward the ocean...

Back out at the storm that was definitely headed to the coast.

Yeah, we saved Ryoshima Coast from King Fury, but that didn't mean there wasn't still a threat lurking on the horizon.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Now that THAT'S out of the way, things should be smooth... SAILING from here on out._

**Lilac: Senom. Senom, NO.**

_... fine._

_Anyway, we'll be finishing up the plot arc in the next two chapters. Personally I think that now that we've made it this far, it should be a pretty easy ride. Hopefully._

_... yeah I got nothing._

**Kurow: Do I get t-**

**Tsuki: BOSS RULE.**

Kurow: It's not like King Fury WANTS to do it!

Lilac: Kingy's gonna be fine. 

**Kurow: ... uhh, he's not moving.**

**Lilac: ... oh. Yeah, guess that means we're breaking the rules, huh?**

Tsuki: *sputters* YOU CAN'T DO THAT!

Kurow: Ohhh yes we can! Go on and review, everybody!

King Fury: ... I'm still ali-

Lilac: *kicks* _Shut UP, you._


	19. The Origin and the Antagonist

_After another few weeks of hiatus, SENOM299'S BACK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!  
_

_Ahem._

_Welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun! This SHOULD be the last hiatus for a while, because next chapter is the Grand Chapter 20 Special, and the Grand Chapter 20 Special is an amazing thing that we've all been looking forward to, right? RIGHT! So let's just blaze through chapter 19 so Senom'll get out Chapter 20 by the new year!  
_

_Warning: We're going to be cranking out some more plot exposition this chapter, and I don't just mean the appearance of the main antagonist. I mean even MORE backstory exposition. As if you all haven't already had enough._

_Thanks to _**Spirits and Shadows, OMapleStar, The River Flows, TheManWithBacon, **_and _**Guest.**_ Reviews are now awarded with Orochi Scout Cookies once again. Don't worry, we've been working on removing the side effects in our spare time._

_... Working on it doesn't mean we've succeeded._

_BUT IT SHOULD BE PERFECTLY SAFE I SWEAR._

**Kurow: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters!  
**

**Senom: Never have and never will.**

**Lilac: GET OUT.**

**Senom: But it's **_**my **_**author's note!**

Lilac: And this is the CHARACTER section!

Senom: ... nyeh.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Automatons._

_No one would think it, but they existed, once upon a time. It was an experiment, of course-just a harmless experiment. The Junk Heap girl never meant for her project to be the end of the world._

_How could she possibly know?_

How could she possibly know that she had sealed the fates of many, and only by corrupting the flow of time could those fates be reversed?

_This timeline has been corrupt for a long time. A very long time. The others are freely flowing away from it-every outcome unable to multiply into other universes. The balance of the universe is a fragile thing._

_That's why I have no choice but to reverse what I have set in motion._

_And that is why you exist._

**0-0-0**

It had gotten closer.

That was the first thing I noticed, squinting out at the horizon, crouched on Watcher's Cape again. It didn't seem to be moving quickly, but then again, we _had _been down in the ruins for a while.

And the Great Storm was definitely moving closer to the coast.

_Mimiru._ I kept my eyes locked on it. _What's going to happen to Ryoshima when the Great Storm hits?_

There was a silence, and I was almost afraid I wouldn't get an answer.

_The storm is actually very light until it reaches its destination, _she spoke up. She sounded distant. _So it won't damage anything until it reaches the ruins of Kaihinmura. Of course, it'll extend itself, but it shouldn't reach Sei-An and destroy it, if that's what you're thinking._

_Good. Then it shouldn't be a major problem_. I straightened, heart still racing as I watched the brewing catastrophe. "What happens when it hits Kaihinmura?"

No one was around to hear, anyway. At least she was answering.

_I don't know. I'm trying to find out. Aren't you supposed to be the one in the plane of reality? _Mimiru huffed irritably, still sounding far away. _Can't you go into that old priestess's home and look through the scrolls for information? There's probably information there._

"You _know _I can't read Nipponese whatever the hell it is." I rolled my eyes, turning back northward. "And even if I could... I really don't want to go through the city by myself."

_You're pathetic._

"Don't care." I headed back inland, jumping down from the platform to meet the sand. "Anyway, it's still going to be a while before Kagu and Chibi finish delivering that medicine for Ayame."

_Why didn't you go with them, again?_

"... Just didn't want to."

It had been about an hour and a half since we'd made it out of the ruins, and I'd made it back to Watcher's Cape without a hitch on my own. Kagu and Chibi had gone off to pick up some medicine from Dr. Bluebeard and take it to Yakushi Village, while Kurow and the scholar were setting to work rebuilding Sugawara's grave.

I honestly didn't feel up to helping with either.

I felt up to getting some damn answers.

_I don't know where you think you're going to get them from. _I could almost see the entity rolling her eyes. _... If you're that desperate for information, you might as well come in here. These memory books have more information than you probably know you have, and if you want to look through them..._

"Is this a trap to get rid of me?"

_Good idea, but. _She sounded tense. _I... Look, this whole affair has me just as curious as you. I want to at least know __**why**__ this timeline is corrupt._

"It's corrupt?"

She opted not to answer, and instead I found myself hurtling towards the chessboard floor of her domain again. The agent of fate didn't even bother to look up while I got to my feet, tossing a tome in my direction.

"That one looks like it'll have info on the Great Storm. Your memories are insanely disorganized, you know."

"I don't even know how memories are organized." I glanced at her, sitting on her throne with a stack of the memory books on either side of her. Either she had a lot to go through, or she already had, because that was probably a lot of memories.

"They're not all memories-they're knowledge. Basically data placed into a form that represents the holder." Mimiru told me, shutting the book in her hands. "Sometimes it's more in the form of pure data, or illusions. It depends on the bearer of the memories. The thing that's strange is, most of this knowledge is what you don't even seem to know. And yet it's here, lying dormant in the recesses of your mind."

"Huh." I flipped through the book in my hands, squinting. It was like a diary someone had written with chicken scratch. "... What the hell-why is this talking about automatons?"

Mimiru's head snapped up. "What does it say?"

"... _The automatons are the cause of the conflict. They cannot be completely destroyed by even divine entities (see records on History of the Origin) and can only be destroyed by their creator's hands. Initiate Project A.L.B.N. and hope for the be-_"

"That's it, then." Mimiru stood up abruptly from her throne. "The automatons are in your actual memories. You fought them at one point, but never completely destroyed them."

"What automatons?" I shut the book just as she snatched it away and flipped through the pages for herself. She stopped on one page and held it up-a page of schematics.

Schematics for...

"_Them?!_ But we beat them _nine months ago_!"

**0-0-0**

"All right, I actually have a plan this time."

"Is it another plan that's going to nearly get us all killed? Like the last five?"

"... _Nooooo._"

Amaterasu resisted the urge to smack her forehead. "I have a better plan than whatever Oni's about to spout out. How about instead of charging in mindlessly, we actually try and be tactical about this?"

"_Or _we can charge in mindlessly, clear out all the demons in our path-because we all know we CAN-and get the hell out of this cave. Huh? How about it?" The deity of Termina crossed his arms, looking proud of himself. Lily gritted her teeth.

"We tried that."

"We can try it again."

"We tried that _five times _and it didn't work."

"It'll work this time."

Waka just stood there, suspended in mid-air, arms crossed and tapping his flute against his shoulder impatiently.

"No, you know what? I have a better plan." Lily started pushing Oni from behind towards the tunnel they had escaped through several times from the way they came in. "Let's have _you_ charge in mindlessly by yourself, clobber everything you see, come back if you're still alive, and tell us when the coast is clear."

The prophet and the goddess exchanged a look.

"You know what? Maybe I will!"

Amaterasu coughed pointedly.

"Then why _don't _you?"

"I'm going _now._"

And then, finally taking charge of the situation, Waka held his flute up and played the highest note possible. Lily and Oni both jumped, whirling around toward the other half of the party.

"_Ahem_." The sun goddess gave them both a pointed look. "Maybe Waka should make the plans from here on out."

"I thought you'd never ask." The Moon Tribesman grinned, if not a bit grimly, turning toward the cavern entrance. "Am I the only person who decided to try looking _up_?"

There was a brief silence.

"... Yeeeeaaaaaaaaaah, we kind of should have realized there was another connecting passage up there."

"You _think_?!"

Needless to say, it was a _very _long afternoon on the Celestial Plain.

**0-0-0**

"The twin owls are the automatons?!" My hands shook. "We _beat _them on Mount Ezofuji nine months ago! They should be... I don't know, wherever demons go!"

"_They _aren't. The demons that possessed them in the past are." Mimiru glanced up at the void that would be the ceiling. "The twin demons of Ezofuji, Lechku and Nechku, were created six hundred years ago and taken far away from their origins-the distance spawning the entirety of Nippon. They were created here-where you stand on the physical plane."

"In Ryoshima Coast?"

"In Kaihinmura. Their creator hid them away, where she thought they would cause no harm, but demons thrived even in the mountain she sealed them within." Mimiru's forehead creased slightly in thought. "It makes sense. Automatons are tricky business. Only their creator can deactivate them forever. Obviously, these automatons' creator didn't think to do that before sealing them away. Probably thought they'd die out before long."

"Wait a second. The owls of Ezofuji that _I am pretty damn sure we finished off nine months ago_, how do they tie into any of this?"

The agent of fate looked me in the eye. "... You do know about the numerous apocalypse theories, don't you?"

"No shit. There's a new one at least every two years or so."

"There's something you should know about the world you were originally born into." Mimiru crossed her arms. "Demons reign there as well as here. They're just careful. You can find the supernatural wherever you look, if you have reason to see them. Eventually, if demons find a powerful host, _they will take advantage of it. _About twelve years in the future of where you left, this timeline ends."

"... What do you mean, ends?"

"The entire timeline is terminated upon that date. Everything ceases to exist." Mimiru frowned. "Something happens then that corrupted this timeline-Parallels are usually interchangeable. This one has been... singled out for some reason."

"And _Lechku and Nechku _are to blame?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know how or why. I just know they're the origin. Somehow." The entity looked lost in thought, then her gaze snapped on me. "You've got company."

"What?"

"On the physical plane. Your partners are back."

"Oh, damn, how long have I been in here?" I panicked.

"Long enough." Mimiru took the book back with her to her throne. "Tell you what. We can be at a stalemate for now-we both want information right now, and I can't exactly get data from a corpse. All sentience is lost when you wipe someone off the board, anyway. So I won't get rid of you until we know why this timeline is corrupted and what caused it. Now get out of here-your friends are going to wonder why you're standing there drooling like a lunatic."

"_WHAT?!"_

Mimiru smirked. "Go back to the physical plane, Lilac. I'll see what I can figure out from in here. You've got work to do out there."

I glared, but found myself staring back out at the ocean instead of the entity who had taken up residence inside my mind. Sighing, I turned back around and promptly got tackled to the ground by everyone's favorite overly-energetic sun god.

_Li! We saved Ayame! Her disease is completely cured!_

I stared at his amber eyes for a second before remembering what the hell he was talking about. "Right, her. Great, you saved her. Get off, Chibi."

The wolf pup pouted, jumping off of me. Kagu stood a few feet away, grinning.

"So what were you up to while we were saving a life?"

"Exorcising demons with Exorcism slips and using the money to buy more." I lied. "And then exorcising some more. You two think Sugawara's grave is done yet?"

"It probably is." Kagu frowned, glancing off in the distance. "Come on, we should go check on Kurow and the scholar woman."

_All right, let's go! _Chibi dashed off.

Leaving both of us behind.

"... Come on, let's catch up." The Miko in training sighed.

And so we did.

About fifteen minutes later, the grave looked good as new (even though I'd never seen the original) and Kurow looked extremely proud of himself.

"You two did a great job with the grave." Kagu commented. I almost started to respect the Moon Tribe member.

"Yo, dudes, whassup?" He floated down to greet us.

... Aaaaaaaaand that respect left.

"So, you like it? Pretty boss if you ask me." He gestured behind him.

"Yeah, how much of that did you do yourself?" I asked. Kurow glared and opened his mouth, and Kagu spoke over whatever he was about to say.

"Yes. I'm sure Sugawara would be pleased as well."

I silently thanked her just as Chibi started growling and backing away from the shrine. "Chibi, what's the matter?"

_I don't think whatever it was that possessed Sugawara is finished with us yet, _he muttered, eyes trained firmly on the mauve smoke rising from the grave.

... Oh.

Yeah, colored smoke is usually a sign that something's wrong in Nippon.

Kurow blinked and took out his pendant, which was blazing with energy. "Dude. My pendant's glowing.

"Something's wrong..." Kagu stared at the smoke for a moment, and her eyes widened. "It's the demon that possessed Sugawara!"

_Is anyone even LISTENING to me aside from Li anymore? _Chibi complained while the smoke took form.

It formed a purple cloud with a mouth. And an eyeball inside of that mouth.

"... That had _better _not be the main antagonist or so help me..." I muttered.

The demon's voice rumbled as it floated around a good twenty feet above us. "This all belongs to me!"

"Dude, what _is _that?" Kurow demanded, backing up.

"... That's the antagonist, isn't it."

"Call me Akuro!" The demon boomed. Chibi's fur bristled.

"... Akuro?" Kagu just blinked.

"Yes! And I am heir to the throne of darkness!"

And with that, Akuro sent out a blast of dark energy toward Chibi...

... and completely missed, obliterating the Moon Tribe ruins instead.

"Holy CRAP, he's definitely the villain."

A scroll rolled out onto the screen for the first time in a while, reading **Already Introduced Main Antagonist of Volume: Akuro**.

"... Yeah, Senom, we kind of got that by now."

"Just making sure."

"Hmph. Just as I thought." Akuro growled. "My power is not yet complete; I lack my full strength."

"Are you _kidding _me?! You've got enough power as it is!" Kurow sweatdropped.

Chibi, meanwhile, had focused his attention back on Akuro and leapt to attack. He was promptly intercepted by a blast of lightning.

"_Chiisaki Taiyo!_"

The words flooded out before I could stop them, and before I knew what I was doing I had rushed to catch a four year old boy with wolf ears and a tail. Instead of blazing with celestial power, he looked the exact opposite-drained of power.

"... Chibi?"

Amber eyes blinked twice and stared into mine, and the boy grinned weakly. "You should've stopped me."

There was a simultaneous cry of "Pooch!" and "Dude!" from a few feet away and Chibi rolled his eyes. "Okay, I screwed up, I get it."

"You are not ready for this, Child of the Sun!" Akuro boomed. I glared up at him, shielding Chibi as best as I could. "Resist as you like, but the world will become one with darkness all the same! Everything I see shall be consumed by it!"

"I call _bull_," I hissed, at the same time as Kurow snapped, "What darkness?"

There was a pause, and the dark entity's eye focused on Kagu. "The girl there knows of what I speak, from when she was consumed by King Fury himself."

"... That was the darkness?" Kagu's voice faltered.

"The world as you know it will be covered by that darkness." Akuro continued. "That is the world I will create... It will be a new world for Yami!"

_... He's building a new world for the FISHBOWL?!_

_Looks like it._

"Enjoy what time you have left." The antagonist sneered. "I must go have words with Orochi before he meets his end. And I will be back to deal with you, Child of the Sun. I would advise you put your affairs in order by then."

Chibi struggled to get to his feet, but I held him back. "Don't you dare even _try! _You know you're no match for him right now!"

"We can't just let him get away! You heard what he said!" Chibi snapped back, fighting my grip. "I'm the Child of the Sun, this is my duty-"

Akuro was already gone and the sun god slumped back against me. Kagu and Kurow both collapsed.

"Dude... I can't stop shaking..." Kurow muttered. "It's like I'm frozen... I've never lost my cool like this before..."

"I've never felt such an evil presence..." Kagu whispered, then pushed herself to her feet to stare at Chibi. "Pooch, what happened to you?"

"Eheheheheh..." Chibi managed a weak laugh. "My bad."

I let go of him so that he could stand up. "Chibi, how _did _you get into a human form from interacting with Akuro?"

"He must have sapped the power right out of me." The young god frowned up at where Akuro had been. "But that doesn't make sense... usually I just lose my markings."

"He didn't change until he touched Li." Kurow pointed out, getting back to his feet. "Whoo, not one of my finer moments. Anyway, it's like you two have something to do with each other."

"Yeah, sure." I glared at him. "Think everything has to do with the Storm Tribe girl who's busy babysitting the two of you."

"Well, he _did_!" Kurow pointed out as Chibi stumbled. I caught him without even thinking about it and the sun god's eyes widened.

"... I think he's right. I think I feel my power coming back." He stared up at me innocently. "Don't let go, okay, Li?"

"That doesn't even make sense!" I snapped as everyone kept staring. "I'm just his mother's Celestial Envoy! What does that have to do with him?!"

"The Child of the Sun would mean Amaterasu's child." The scholar woman pointed out, giving me a curious look. "Maybe you're not actually Amaterasu's Celestial Envoy, but his. Doesn't she already have a Celestial Envoy?"

I blinked, the information sinking in. Issun _had _been doing his job as Ammy's envoy, after all. I hadn't been able to instill belief into the new world.

"An Envoy's job is to spread belief." I pointed out. "Not to... whatever I just did..."

"Maybe that's not always the case." Chibi stood up and instantly reverted back to his wolf form, shaking out his fur. _Maybe it's that I'm so young and need an Envoy as a support._

Kagu nodded. "You gave him back his power. Lilac does have a lot of faith in Pooch, so that faith just might be the energy you gave him."

"So that's it, then." Kurow grinned. "Dude, you're like his main sidekick."

"No, I'm not!"

_Yeah, you are._ Chibi's tail wagged, then he stopped. _Oh, crap, I almost forgot Akuro!_

Any light air instantly faded away. "Oh... yeah, that..." Kagu frowned. "He said he was going to have words with Orochi, but how is that even possible? Amaterasu defeated Orochi nine months ago."

Chibi glanced at me and I threw my hands up. "I was there, and that snake was _definitely _dead with every last one of his heads chopped off when we left him."

"Akuro has the power to travel to the past..." Kurow deduced. "So, anyone have the power to turn back time?"

He and Chibi looked pointedly at me.

"I just FROZE time, I didn't turn it back." I glared. "I can't do everything, you know."

"We have to go after him somehow." Kagu pointed out.

"Yeah, I feel you, but we don't have a way back there."

There was a pause.

"So, that's it, then." The scholar woman sighed. "There's nothing we can do now."

_Let's at least get back to Sei-An City, _Chibi suggested.

As the others walked ahead, Kagu pulled me back, looking partly shocked. "Lilac, have you seen the storm out there in the ocean?" She asked, eyes darting to the horizon.

"It's gotten closer." I breathed out. "Why?"

"That's no normal storm." She stared me in the eye. "I don't know what it is, but it's full of energy. The same energy that's been coming off you since we met."

**0-0-0**

We caught up to the others at the entrance to Sei-An. "It's... quiet." Kagu pointed out.

I begged to differ. "No, it's just as loud as ever around here. It's the capital of Nippon and all."

"I don't mean people talking." The Miko girl's eyes narrowed. "Gen was causing some sort of racket when we stopped by here earlier. He must finally be done with whatever he was busy with."

"Maybe we should stop by and see what happened." Kurow suggested.

_We don't have anything else to do. _Chibi pointed out.

And so on we went.

"Dude!" Kurow legitimately gasped after we'd made the questionable ascent to Gen's workshop (questionable as in, do _not _ask how we did it because I don't know either). "It's a temporal displacement machine! You can go anywhere and any_when _with one of these babies!"

_A what?_

"You don't say!" Gen turned around from admiring his handiwork.

"... You mean you had no idea what you were building?"

"Again?" I chimed in. "Does he _usually _build stuff that he has no idea what is?"

"We can use this to go back to when Amaterasu beat Orochi," Kurow cut in. "That should put a damper on that Akuro."

"Hey, Gen!"

My eyes narrowed.

I _knew _that high-pitched voice.

"Issun, what are _you _doing here?!" I snapped, whirling around as the Poncle bounced right past me. "... What have you been doing?!"

"Great, I found you!" He completely ignored me and stopped in front of Gen. "I've been looking all over the place for you. Where the heck have you been?"

He then finally seemed to notice Chibi and I. "Oh, Chibi! Is that you? Hey, Li. What brings you two to crazy old Gen's place?"

"Why are _you _here?" I grumbled.

And nevertheless he somehow got the entire story of what we'd been doing over the course of this plot arc.

"... Huh. That's something." Issun decided.

"_Something?! _I've been Chibiterasu's Celestial Envoy this entire time and never even knew it!" I snapped. "Speaking of Envoys, seriously, what have you been doing lately?"

"Oh, that's what I came to ask Gen about." The Poncle whirled around and took out a stone tablet. "Check this out! I found it back in the ruins outside of town."

"The ruins that Akuro blew up, huh?" Kurow muttered.

I stared at the blueprints etched on the tablet. "... Is that supposed to be a saucer?"

Gen's attention had been completely drawn to Issun's discovery. "Oh my _word!_" He exclaimed. "Another contraption of dubious nature! I must build it before I do anything else!"

"Some help _you _are when we need to use your time travel machine!" I snapped at him for good measure as the inventor tore off to the other side of the room and began clattering around for materials.

"... I guess that means we should get going, boy." Kurow glanced at Chibi.

"You're going to the past?" The scholar asked.

"No doubt. Someone's gotta put that Akuro in his place." He confirmed.

"You're right! And I'm going with you." Kagu decided.

"No, you shouldn't." I cut in.

"Say Akuro gets the drop on us. We need someone back here just in case we don't make it back alive." Kurow crossed his arms. "I guess Li has to go, since dude needs her for moral support."

"What am I, the team cheerleader?" I grumbled. Chibi just wagged his tail.

"Anyway, you need to get better at using your Miko powers." The Moon Tribe boy continued. "The three of us have this covered."

Kagu sighed. "... I don't completely agree with you, but I understand. This isn't goodbye. You're all coming back, got it?"

"You got it. ... Which is good, 'cause I suck at goodbyes." Kurow grinned and turned around. "Aaaaaaand, pretty lady..."

I tuned him out and turned to Kagu. "I know you have your Miko training to attend to, but I do have something to ask of you while you're gone."

"What we talked about earlier?"

"Yeah. If we come back and that storm's about to hit or something, we need to know how to counter it, or at least a way to keep everyone safe. If you can't find any information..."

"I'll see what I can do to counter it." Kagu nodded. "I'll handle everything here while the three of you handle Akuro."

"And we'll handle him, all right." I nodded.

She grinned and turned to Chibi. "Pooch, you be careful, you hear? I know you're better than that stupid demon."

_And you know it! _Chibi declared. _... I mean, I can't take him by myself, but Li and Kurow should be enough to help me get the job done._

"We can only hope." I dusted my skirt off and marched over to Kurow, grabbing him by the back of his scarf and dragging him away from the scholar. "Alright, everyone, time for goodbyes is over, we'll see you all later."

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Kurow complained, flailing pathetically. "Call me!"

I facepalmed and dragged him over to the time machine. "Let's go, Chibi."

He dashed up behind us and into the past we went.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_End of Plot Arc II._

_Next chapter of Closer to the Rising Sun, the chapter we've all been waiting for: The Grand Chapter 20 Special! Look forward to cheap thrills, spills, and outtakes, coming VERY soon!_

**Akuro: Rev-**

**Tsuki: NOPE.**

**Akuro: What?!**

Tsuki: They haven't FOUGHT you yet, so you don't get a review request. I think Hal should get a review request!

Hal: What?! I haven't even made an appearance in... how long?

Tsuki: GET GOING.

**Hal: ... Please review!**


	20. Talk Like a Pirate Day

_... So about the Grand Chapter 20 special..._

_Unfortunately, it has to be put off. I'm at my best writing specials during the school hours when I'm not__**supposed**__ to be writing. And since it's kinda still winter break until next week, I can't get out the special._

... But I CAN drag Li out nine months into the past and make an update 8D

_Lilac: Fantastic._

_Thanks to _**TheManWithBacon, Daughter of Kabegami, **_and _**Spirits and Shadows **_for reviewing!_

... You guys are my main and only three now, huh.

_WELL HAVE SOME COOKIES._

**Nanami: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den and all corresponding characters, because they belong to Capcom and only Capcom. Meanwhile she **_**does **_**own her OCs.**

**Lilac: ... why's the racist mermaid making a comeba-**

**Tsuki: QUESTION NOT THE QUESTIONABLE MAIN CHARACTER.**

**Kurow: Wait, she's a main character?**

Lilac: Kurow, be nice, not every partner gets as much screentime as you.

**0-0-0-0-0**

It was mid-afternoon a few miles off the shore of Ryoshima Coast. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was a big fat cursed zone on the land.

... Well, we're ignoring that cursed zone for the moment, because you couldn't even see it from the focal point of this chapter anyway. In any case, out on the ocean everything seemed just fine and dandy, the way it was supposed to be. The Water Dragon was out thrashing around somewhere and terrorizing the sea, fishermen went about their business in dragging hapless marine life out of its ecosystem and then suffocating their prey... All was perfectly normal.

Except for the cursed zone and the Water Dragon. Granted, it had been like this for the past few days.

Then there was the _other _abnormality, which consisted of two children and a wolf pup appearing about thirty feet over the water's surface. In mid-air. Out of nowhere.

There was a moment of silence before gravity finally decided to catch up with us from its day off.

"KUROW, YOUR AIM_SUCKS_!"

"Dude, don't blame this on me!"

Chibi let out a yelp. _Kurow, get your wings out! GET YOUR WINGS OUT!  
_

"I _can't_! It's coming up too fast!"

"Do you people know what happens when you hit water going this fast?!" I panicked as the water's surface rushed toward us. "It's like freaking concrete!"

"... What's concrete?"

"Um, rock. I mean rock."

"You sai-"

Kurow was silenced by being the first one to fall into the water. Chibi was next, letting out a whine that was probably more about his wet fur than anything else, and I just barely had enough time to take in a sharp breath and brace myself as all I heard was a deafening crack, a rush of water and bubbles rising above me, and felt all the air rush right back out of the lungs and lose consciousness.

_I swear this is becoming a habit._

I don't know if it was two minutes or ten later when I finally opened my eyes to Chibi pawing at my arm and Kurow kneeling over on his hands and knees.

"If anyone had to do CPR, tell me so I can punch them in the mouth and make it better." I coughed up a bit of saltwater and grimaced. Kurow grinned broadly.

"All right, we got her back."

Chibi tilted his head. _What's CPR?_

"You'll find out when you're older." I ruffled his fur, which had apparently been shaken out dry. Then again, he'd probably also used Galestorm to help out. I turned to glare at Kurow. "I swear if you tried to use mouth-to-mouth on me-"

"Relax, dude, no one had to." He waved a hand. "You just passed out. Chibi got you back up to surface and you were delirious for a few minutes."

"Delirious...?"

_It was hilarious. _Mimiru snickered. _I could hear it from in here. You were going on about scuba diving Imps._

I gritted my teeth and climbed back to my feet, glancing around. Apparently we'd been saved by a... pirate ship? "Where are we, anyway?" I hurriedly changed the subject.

"Ask that guy." Kurow jerked a thumb at a man who looked about in his mid-thirties and was most definitely dressed like a pirate.

"Thought you kids would never ask," The pirate man declared. "Well, you be on my ship, the Goryeo."

"The Goryeo, huh?" I muttered.

"Never heard of it." Kurow decided.

"We be a merchant ship transporting goods and passengers to Sei-An City."

"Oh, right..." Kurow's eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded. "Well, thanks, dude."

"No need to thank me-I'm the captain of this here vessel." The captain laughed. "And I'll save any wee one I find in the ocean between here and faraway lands."

_... Wee ones? _Mimiru snickered as I silently fumed.

_Shut the hell up, you were the one who did this to me in the first pla-_

"So anyway, what are a couple of landlubbers like you doing out in the drink?"

Kurow sweatdropped as Chibi muttered _what drink? I don't see any sake_. "Dude, you don't even wanna _know..._ But you can help us. Ever heard of someone named Akuro?"

"Akuro, Akuro...? Doesn't ring a bell." The captain's forehead creased in thought. "Sounds like someone important-I should know a pooh-bah like that."

_A what? _Chibi sweatdropped.

"Anyway, if you're looking for this guy, someone here can help. I've got passengers from all over the world here-someone on this floating pile of wood should know who Akuro is."

"It may be a floating pile of wood, but I think it's a good floating pile of wood." I glanced around. "Must be your pride and joy to transport goods for Sei-An, right?"

"You'd be right there, lass!" The captain laughed heartily. "Mighty good of you to notice."

Chibi and Kurow both paused and Kurow coughed. "All right, ready, you two? We need to pick up Akuro's trail ASAP!"

"Chibi doesn't even know what that means." I muttered, trailing behind them as we headed off.

"As soon as possible."

_Thanks._

Somewhere out in the sky, a scroll was rolled out reading **The Goryeo (Nine Months Ago).** It then promptly rolled itself and fell on Kurow's head.

"Ow! What the-"

I grabbed it and chucked it into the ocean, wiping my hands on my skirt. "Nothing happened. _Nothing at all._"

_Li, that's kinda... littering..._

"I wasn't the idiot who put it up in the air to begin with." I shot a glare up at the sky. Senom could be heard giggling nervously from offscreen.

And thus we began our wild goose chase on the Goryeo for information.

"Maybe we should split up." Kurow decided. "We'd get a lot more info a lot faster if we just split up in three different directions and met back on deck in half an hour or so."

"Good, because I see three different directions we could go." I ignored the cabin we were standing beside.

"... What about in there?"

"It's the captain's cabin, no one's in there. I can see it from out here."

Kurow rolled his eyes. _Hey, that's a good plan! _Chibi grinned broadly. _Half an hour, right? Who goes what way?_

"Let's see..." I glanced around the deck. "Kurow, you try going up those stairs and see if there's anyone up on higher levels. Chibi can go downstairs. I'll check indoors on this level."

Kurow mumbled something about us trying to get rid of him while Chibi nodded ecstatically and dashed off. The Moon Tribe boy shot me a look as he got his wings out and hovered about a foot above me. "Well? We gonna go or what?"

"You can go whenever you want." I rolled my eyes and headed toward a taller building on the deck while Kurow headed straight for its roof. I then proceeded to slide down against the floor.

"Ohhhhhh god I hate boats, I hate boats, I _freaking hate boats..._"

_0-0-0 (This is totally not a timeskip, nope, not at all~)_

After a few minutes of resting there and complaining to no one about how much boats sucked, I picked myself up and hauled ass up the stairs to see a single sailor.

_Better one person for information than none. _"Hey, have you-"

"The seas have been restive of late... The Sea Dragon's even gone bonkers."

"... Don't you mean the _Water Dragon_?"

"I have serious doubts about the safety of this ship." He continued, completely ignoring me.

"... All right, thanks for your time," I muttered, heading back downstairs and out on the deck. Kurow met me with arms crossed and wings still out.

"All I found was a treasure chest and a merchant. You?"

"Some guy who has hearing problems. Or maybe just a really crappy attention span. I don't know, I keep meeting people like that in Nippon."

Kurow shrugged. "Wanna head down to the lower decks and catch up with the little dude? Make sure he hasn't drowned or something?"

"I think he's safe from that. I'm more worried about you." I headed past him and down to the stairs leading below. Our partner snorted. "What?"

"I wasn't the one who passed out fifteen minutes ago."

"Yeah, well, you _were _the person with wings who couldn't be bothered getting them out and making sure we didn't end up almost drowning to _begin with._"

"I was panicking!" He defended as we made our way through the ship. "And where was your magic that you used against King Fury?"

"I don't know how to control that! I've only used it twice!" I defended. "And a lot of good stopping time would do us if I don't know how long I can keep it stopped."

"Whatever." Kurow threw his hands up. "We're both in the wrong here. That good enough for you, Miss Bossy?"

"I'm only _bossy _because no one's going to get anything done if someone doesn't keep things on track."

"You can do it without being bossy."

"And I'm not _that _bossy."

"You're the bossiest person I know."

"Too bad you didn't meet Kagu before she became a Miko-in-training. _Then _you'd know bossy."

"That chick? She's not bossy."

I rolled my eyes as we came up to Chibi, who was staring at an old man in the corner of the room.

_I thought you guys were up on the higher decks?_

"Turns out there's almost no one up there."

_Huh._

Kurow took charge of the situation and floated over to the passenger. "Hello, there! I've got something I wanna ask you!"

"A task, eh? What kind of task?" The old man turned around. Chibi and I exchanged pained looks. _Great, someone else who needs hearing aids. _

"No, no, no. Not a _task. _I need to _ask _you something." Kurow leaned forward and raised his voice. "_Can. You. Hear. Me_? I've got a _question _for you."

_Someone has experience in dealing with the elderly. _Mimiru sounded as amused as ever.

_Aren't you supposed to be looking for info on the Great Storm and my screwed up fate or whatever? _I asked irritably.

_I can multitask._

"Oh! There hasn't been an inquisition in these parts." The sailor replied cheerfully. Kurow gave us a desperate look.

"That's not what I said, dude... Does the name Akuro mean anything to you?"

"What?! Did you just say _Akuro_?!" The old sailor gasped.

"Yes! You know him?" Kurow leaned forward eagerly.

There was a brief pause for dramatic effect.

"... Nope. Haven't the foggiest." He replied cheerfully. Kurow gritted his teeth and turned back to us.

"Geez, just forget it. We'll find someone who _isn't _hard of hearing."

"Seeing as how we're in Nippon? That's kind of impossible."

"Hold on, sonny. I've heard a tale or two back in my day that you might like." The old sailor turned to us, cane tapping against the floor almost rhythmically. "They say you should touch the Knowing Jewel if you don't want to be a fool. Whatever you need to know? You can probably learn it from that there jewel."

"And where would we _find _this Knowing Jewel?" Kurow asked suspiciously.

"If he says something crazy like 'at the bottom of the ocean', we're so done." I decided.

"It's a crystal at the bottom of the ocean."

"... That's it you two _we're leaving._"

_No no no don't! I think we actually need this thing! _Chibi interrupted, biting my sleeve and dragging me back.

"The bottom of the ocean?!" You could actually see beads of sweat forming on Kurow's forehead.

The ocean is like a mother to everything that exists. Everything she's seen or experienced has been crystallized. Legends say that whoever touches the jewel will be blessed with knowledge."

I gave Kurow a quick glance. "Kurow, looks like it'd be a lifesaver for you."

He pointedly ignored me. "Wow, sweet deal. So all I gots to do is touch a shiny jewel? I mean, I doubt it'll give up any clues on Akuro, but anything's worth a shot, I suppose."

"Case and _point_," I muttered irritably. "Please tell me that Knowing Jewel has some sort of grammar textbook in it."

"The Jewel can be found at the Sage Shrine-a very peculiar place, I'd say." The old sailor nodded wisely. "Ask the captain. He knows the way."

"Thanks, dude! And here I thought you weren't gonna be any help!" Kurow grinned broadly as Chibi smacked him with his tail. "Hey!"

"Oh, _boy_, backtracking!" I cheered sarcastically as we made our way back up toward the deck. "My _favorite part _about adventuring! Not."

_I think Li's in a bad mood._ Chibi noticed.

"_No_, you_ think_?" I glared as we went back on deck. "I've never liked boats."

_I thought you lived on the beach all your life?  
_

"A few miles off the beach. I just don't like boats." I shuddered. "Almost got pushed off one once when I was ten."

"I thought you were eight?" Kurow turned to glance at me and Chibi and I both exchanged a warning look.

_He didn't already know?_

_Oh, shit._

We both coughed awkwardly as Kurow gave us a suspicious glare. "What's going on?"

_Li's kinda been... cursed._ Chibi explained slowly.

"Technically, I'm fifteen." I glanced away.

"... Well, that explains a lot." Kurow rolled his eyes. "Cursed, huh? Why didn't you two tell me?"

"We thought you'd pick it up by now...?" I tried. "... Sorry, Kurow. This isn't the kind of thing you just bring up in conversation, you know?"

"Yeah, I got that." He still sounded slightly hurt, but changed the subject by dashing ahead. "Hey, Captain!"

"Aye?" The captain turned around to face the three of us.

"We're trying to find the Knowing Jewel. Ever heard of it?" Kurow asked eagerly.

"The Knowing Jewel, ye say? Aye, I've heard of it, but you'll have to ask Otohime where it be." My eyes widened briefly and a marathon of the events that occurred over the course of the second plot arc of ALBN flashed in my brain. Including having to ride Orca around the ocean to the Dragon Palace. And the Water Dragon's gaping mouth. And Rao.

And just thinking about Rao made me sick to my stomach.

I came back to my senses just in time to hear Kurow ask "-is she hot?" and instantly earn himself a smack from Chibi's tail.

"Just hold on, lad." The captain began looking around for something and then sweatdropped. "Well, I'll be... It's gone! I need me Conch Shell to summon Otohime! It must be somewhere on this ship..."

I glanced skyward. "Guys, assuming Akuro wants words with Orochi _before he meets his end... _and assuming this is the day that Orochi meets his end... we have until midnight."

"It's about an hour past noon." Kurow observed. "So we gotta pick up the pace."

"We're just running around all over the place." I muttered, shaking my head. "We need to hurry. Where do you think they're keeping this Conch Shell?"

_I think there's some sort of treasury down below. I overheard some people talking about it. _Chibi pointed out. _I didn't see it, so I guess we go back down to where we met up and look deeper in._

"Great." I muttered. "More backtracking."

"You're definitely in a bad mood." Kurow grinned.

"Shut _up_ and let's get this over with. The faster we're off this boat, the happier we'll all be."

And then the author took pity on us because we'd been so good for an entire chapter that she gave us a timeskip all the way back to where we needed to be for the next cutscene.

She could be nice. Sometimes.

Anyway, Kurow just decided to begin spinning his flute and hum irritatingly as we walked through the corridors. We were then stopped by that one guy whose name everyone forgot from Okami.

"Hmph! You there! You have what appears to be a flute..."

_Who's that guy?_ Chibi asked quietly as Benkei strode up to us.

Everyone but me, anyway.

_I'unno, I didn't meet him on my last joyride of an adventure, _I shrugged.

"... but I know it houses a sword inside!" The warrior monk declared. "You cannot fool the eyes of Benkei the fisherman!"

Funny, I could have sworn him saying he was a swordsman in Okami.

Kurow blinked and put his flute away as Benkei continued. "I have collected 999 weapons from all over Nippon, and that concealed sword of yours would be my thousandth! Hand it over, now!"

"The what? Dude, I'm not giving you anything, all right?" The Moon Tribe boy rolled his eyes as I silently wondered how he knew. I knew there'd been a myth on Benkei... him and someone else in Nippon that I knew well... But I didn't remember anyone named Yoshitsune that we'd _met..._

And then it clicked.

Yoshitsune also sometimes went by _Ushiwaka._

_Well, no duh he knows, he's supposed to work for Waka or something, _I thought, mentally facepalming. Somehow.

"Then you shall not pass!" Benkei retorted. The three of us exchanged pained looks.

"Everywhere we go, huh... What do you guys wanna do?" Kurow looked at Chibi and I. Before I could say _mug him and take all 999 of his swords_, the elderly sailor from earlier spoke up.

"Back off, Benkei. If you're looking to claim your thousandth weapon, go for the living sword!"

"The living sword? Does such a weapon even exist?" Benkei raised an oversized eyebrow.

"Oh, sure. Who hasn't heard the tales of it? It lives in the purest waters, swimming to and fro..." The old man got a mischievous glint in his eye. "If you went to the city, I know you'd find it there."

"Intriguing..." The monk mused, before turning to Kurow. "You. I no longer have need of your little sword. I shall go to the city and find this so-called _living sword_."

And then he walked off.

"Well, at least he cleared the path." I huffed.

"... Dude, hold up." Kurow turned back to the elderly sailor. "Is there really such a thing as a living sword?"

"Sure thing! ... If you count a cutlassfish as a living sword!" The old man wheezed out a hoarse laugh as the three of us sweatdropped and went on our way.

One maze of cargo and a key later, we came right back the way we came to open a door that we had completely ignored a few minutes ago.

And so we went upstairs to the treasury.

"I swear this place is familiar. I know this layout from somewhere..." I muttered, glancing around. Kurow rummaged around in one of the chests and held up a conch shell.

"Got it!"

"That... is a big conch shell."

"Dunno how the captain's gonna use it to summon this Otohime lady, but let's get it back to him anyway. We're running out of daylight." Kurow snapped his fingers and we headed back up to the top deck.

"Oh! You found the Conch Shell!" The captain was duly impressed. "Now I can use it to call Otohime for ye fellas. Follow me."

He lead us down to the port area where he had apparently pulled us out of the ocean from, held up the shell to the ocean, and blew it like a horn.

And that thing was _loud_. No _wonder _it could summon the queen of the Dragonians.

She didn't keep us waiting on. About half a minute later, Otohime burst out of the water, floating in midair with a shower of sparkles. My eye twitched slightly.

"Queen of the Seas and Ruler of the Dragonians! It is our honor to welcome you!" The captain bellowed.

"My brave ship captain." Otohime descended in front of us. "For what cause do you summon me on this day?"

"It's not I, it's them." The captain gestured to the three of us with his free hand. "They're looking for the Sage Shrine."

"Is that so?" Otohime turned to examine us.

"Yeah, I'm Kurow." Our partner introduced. "And this here's-"

"I know who they are." The queen interrupted. "This is Chibiterasu and one of the Okami family's Celestial Envoys."

"Wha- you know them?!" Kurow gawked. Chibi and I both gave her a sharp look.

"Those markings easily distinguish Chibiterasu from all other creatures." Otohime explained. "And he has marked his Envoy, as well."

"Marked me?"

Otohime didn't go into the details, choosing to go back to the subject at hand. "Now, tell me. Why do you seek out the Sage Shrine?"

Kurow shook his head. "We're looking for someone named Akuro."

"I do not recognize the name."

"Well, the name spells trouble. Major trouble. He wants to bring the whole world under a reign of darkness." The Moon Tribe boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"I see." The queen of the Dragonians mused. "I found it odd that I felt the presence of a demon before. This may be the Akuro of whom you speak."

_It has to be. _Chibi muttered.

"If so, it is imperative that I speed you to the Sage Shrine." She decided.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Kurow asked.

"Only one attired in the raiment of the Water Dragon can go there. But for me to take on that form..." The woman shook her head, as if reassuring herself more than us. "No. You are in need of help, and I shall provide it. I shall use all the powers available to me."

The queen rose back up into the air and raised her arms out to the sky, beginning to take on a radiant glow. Kurow whistled. "Wow... she's glowing like the sun."

"Chibi." I muttered. "_Like the sun_. Help her out."

The young sun god readied his tail. _Way ahead of you._

About a minute later, her glow intensified. "Yes, I can feel it... My power is overflowing!"

And then came the moment in which if Issun was here, he'd be busy having a heart attack. Because Otohime transformed into the Water Dragon.

"Chibiterasu... With your aid I have assumed the form of the Water Dragon." She boomed, bowing her head down to our level. Set foot on my back and we will be on our way. I will take you to the Sage Shrine."

It was about at this point that we all noticed Kurow staring out at the ocean and sweating profusely. His pupils had shrunk down from panic and he giggled deliriously.

_Kurow, are you okay? _Chibi tilted his head slightly.

Kurow seemed to finally snap and turn away from the water in a panic. "Whoa, dude! You... uh, you guys go ahead! I'll stick around and... look for clues."

"Aw, another landlubber who's afraid of getting his panties wet, eh?" The captain teased. I snickered as Kurow gave him a desperate look.

"You don't have to put it like _that_, dude..."

Otohime thought about this for a moment. "This task will be too difficult for you alone, Chibiterasu. I will have one of my attendants accompany us. Nanami!"

There were several splashes in the distance and I panicked. _Oh CRAP, it's the racist mermaid again!_

Nanami leapt onto the boat in all her fishy glory, turning to her queen and bowing as best she could. "I am here to serve you."

Chibi didn't waste another second in promptly glomping our old partner and licking her in the face. Nanami shrieked, trying in vain to push him off.

"Get off! You big, slobbering... white thing! What are those markings? Tentacles?"

"You know her, dude?" Kurow glanced at Chibi. Nanami fumed.

"I've never met this furry... SQUID before!" She snapped, outraged. Chibi gave her a heartbroken look. "Yes, that's what you are! A hairy squid!"

"And what a good name for him, too-Squiddy!" The captain roared with laughter while Chibi continued to stare at Nanami.

_You don't remember me?_

"Yeah, sure.." Kurow muttered, floating over to Chibi and I. "Look, we're in the _past_, so she doesn't know you guys yet. In fact, this could be the real first time you ever meet her."

"Sounds legit." I glanced over at Nanami, giving the mermaid girl a wary look. If she didn't remember either of us, having to deal with her as a partner would be a whole nother ball game than the _last _time.

Chibi stayed quiet for a moment, then looked at me expectantly. _Li, you have a choice, y'know. You can stay with Kurow and look for clues or come with me to the Sage Shrine._

"Yeah, you're right." Kurow got his wings out. "I think I can do a little recon and carry you. What's it gonna be?"

I crossed my arms and sighed. "Oh, for the love of..."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_And thus this chapter draws to a close. The next two chapters are going to be uploaded at the same time when they're both finished, because they're going to be parallel to each other. That's right, there'll be a chapter for the scenario in which Li goes with Kurow and the scenario in which she goes with Chibi and Nanami._

_So next time on Closer to the Rising Sun, Chapter 21A and 21B: _**Good Old Fashioned Underwater Musicals **_and _**No, This One's Dead Too**_. See you guys then!_

**Chibi: And don't forget to review! 8D**

**Lilac: Oh god, I'm choosing the lesser of two evils here...**


	21. A - What Fourth Wall?

_Hello to one and all, and welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun! It is VERY good to get back into the swing of things, finally. Instead of the usual ramble, we're going to cut straight to the action!_

_... But first, thanks to __**Daughter of Kabegami, ShunpoGekigami, **__and __**Spirits and Shadows **__for your faithful and happy reviews!_

_I would really like some more reviews..._

_I bet those reviews are lonely..._

_*shot*_

**Nanami: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or it's corresponding characters and plots-she also doesn't own Pokemon, whatever that is. She only owns her OCs.**

* * *

Glancing from Nanami and Chibi to Kurow, I sighed.

"... I'll go with Nanami and Chibi. Not that I think I'll be of any use underwater, but I'm Chibi's Envoy, after all. He needs me-you said that yourself." I nodded at Kurow. "You'll be okay by your own, right?"

"You know it." Kurow saluted. "You guys go check out the Sage Shrine... And I'll go see if I can't dig up any information on Akuro by myself."

He rose up a good ten feet in the air, grinned and saluted to us, and then zoomed off into the distance.

"... So he can't swim, but he can fly?" The captain asked after a moment.

"At least he's got that going for him." I muttered.

"And we shall go to the shrine." Otohime decided, turning back to us. Nanami beamed.

"Yes, ma'am." She then tried to drag herself forward, but mobility on land isn't exactly the easiest thing to pull off when you don't have legs. Chibi just shook his head and slung her onto his back. "Ah... thanks." She glanced down at Chibi, who gave her a wolf-grin in reply and dashed onto Otohime's back.

_C'mon, Li!_

"I am _so _going to regret this," I muttered, running behind him. The Dragonian queen began speeding through the water while the three of us mostly just held on for dear life.

"Oh, I never got your name. Who are you, again?" Nanami glanced at me.

"Elizalilac Alexis, Celestial Envoy of Chibiterasu Omikami," I recited off sarcastically. _Why the hell not. Because technically, I am._

"Elza-what?" The mermaid frowned. Something clicked in my brain and Chibi burst out laughing.

_Call her Elza call her Elza call her Elza!  
_

_CHIBI I HATE YOU SO MUCH._

As the young god continued cackling madly, Nanami shrugged. "I'll just call you Elza, if that's okay."

_YES!  
_

I sweatdropped, remembering that she'd done it in the future and there was nothing I could do to change that. "Yeah, sure..."

Suddenly, our ride drew to a halt, and Otohime's voice came back to us. "We're here. Nanami, use the Wet and Dry Jewels to push back the waves."

"Yes, ma'am!" The mermaid hurriedly took the Dry Jewel out of her hair and held it up. Almost instantly, the water began to push back from the shrine until it had completely opened up. Eerily similar to how the Ghost Ship became accessible...

Something in the back of my mind started flashing a warning light, but I shook it off.

"Okay, Elza, Squiddy! Let's go!" Nanami cheered.

There was a pause.

"Leap before you think, right?" I grinned at Chibi.

_Who even started that, anyway?_

"Issun."

_Why am I not surprised..._

We then proceeded to jump down a good thirty or forty feet and somehow not die. Or get any injuries, for that matter.

Well, Chibi didn't. I somehow managed to twist my ankle in the fall.

"Oh sweet Ammy this hurts..."

"Uhhh... we're not small enough to fit through that." Nanami blinked at what was probably the Sage Shrine, but _did _look very undersized. Chibi shook his head and glanced around.

_Ooh, seashell!  
_

And he bloomed it.

My head snapped up at the familiar item that had emerged from within, and I half-crawled-half-scuttled over. "How did the Lucky Mallet get down here?! ... And in a seashell, for that matter?!"

"Oh! Was that the Celestial Brush?" Nanami was too busy noticing Chibi's tail dripping with ink. "I thought only a god could use that!"

_I AM a god, thanks much, _Chibi declared proudly.

"Anyway, I think I know what that thing is... oh, right, it's the Lucky Mallet!" She took hold of it and started shaking it in Chibi's general direction. Instantly he started shrinking toward Issun's size... and growing again... and shrinking again...

After he grew back to his normal size, he barked at Nanami irritably. _Will you quit that? _

"Sorry, Squiddy!" Nanami giggled. "I get excited easily. But with this, we should be able to get through that gate!"

"Then I guess we'd better get shrinking. ... In front of the gate. Smaller us means more distance to walk." I reminded as we headed over to the tiny shrine. Nanami shook the mallet again, and this time all three of us came down so that the shrine seemed to be a normal height for us.

And so we headed inside.

_This doesn't look much like a shrine... _Chibi frowned at the little puddle in front of us. I smacked my forehead and got out an Exorcism Slip.

"I'll be right back..."

A few moments later I returned from cleaving a few very unfortunate demons, Nanami and Chibi staring awkwardly at me in my wake.

"Well _someone _had to handle them," I shrugged.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Nanami glanced down at the water. "Well... let's go!"

_C'mon, Li! _Chibi turned to grin at me.

"I can't swim, remember?!" I snapped, face turning red. "I didn't think we'd actually have to, but that's an _underwater tunnel!_"

"You can't swim?" Nanami blinked, staring at me like I'd grown several kitsune tails. "... Oh.. well... It's okay! I have the Dry Jewel, so... well, you'll see!"

"I'm scared now," I muttered, jumping into the water behind them. I held my breath...

... and realized that I'd been surrounded by an air bubble. Nanami waved from outside the bubble, Chibi beside her.

"You should've seen your face, Elza!" The mermaid giggled. "I have the Dry Jewel, so neither of you are going to drown or anything. It's all right! Come on, let's go find the shrine."

"I was definitely expecting that." I glanced away. "Hey-how do I move this bubble?"

"I think it rolls." Nanami blinked.

"... You don't even know how to work your own bubbles?!"

After a few minutes of struggling to get the hang of my air bubble, I just rolled along after Chibi and Nanami through a usually-perilous dungeon of jellyfish and magnetism and time limits. Fortunately, the author once again took pity on us and used a timeskip.

Wait a second.

"Why are we suddenly in front of a giant starfish?"

Not pity.

Not pity _at all._

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight - Starfish with No Backstory Whatsoever Asteroidean**

"Wait, this thing isn't even relevant to the plot? At _all_?!"

_What plot?_

"... Nothing, Chibi."

The three of us watched the giant starfish begin barreling toward us and I turned to Nanami. "Nanami, I'm gonna have to take a serious risk here. How far do you think your Dry Jewel's power extends?"

"Elza, swimming isn't the kind of thing a _human_can learn in a few seconds... I mean, no offense, but if you haven't learned already-!" Nanami stared at me.

"Then I deserve the award for Biggest Idiot in Nippon. Someone let Issun, Kuni, and Kurow know that they've all been beaten to it." I took a sharp breath in, unsheathed Dreamcatcher, and slammed the blade through the bubble. All the oxygen rushed out around me and I fought to keep my eyes open, my senses still working. Everything was fighting to keep the water out, but I wasn't going to abandon Chibi for something I'd never been able to learn how to do.

_You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I'm not exactly an old dog, _I thought grimly, drawing out an Exorcism Slip as I somehow managed to stay floating up. Nanami continued to stare for a moment before nodding and letting Chibi carry her to the other side of the room.

And so the fight against Asteroidean commenced.

... What am I supposed to say? We were fighting a _giant starfish_. He wasn't even that hard to beat, anyway- I had Exorcisms, which were long ranged, and Chibi had a rosary, which was also long ranged. We never even got hit by any of the straight-on attacks, and just kept attacking until... it died.

Yeah.

_... That was anticlimactic. _Chibi decided as the door leading ahead finally opened for reasons that no one's going to try and explain, least of all me or the author.

"Chibi, for the love of you and your mother both don't question it because _that's the exit and I want to get back out of the water._" I snapped.

And so we did.

The Sage Shrine looked exactly like the name stated-a shrine. It definitely looked imperious enough to house something as sacred to the underwater realm as the Knowing Jewel, at any rate.

_How did this thing even get built? _Chibi glanced around. _I mean, we had to shrink down with the Lucky Mallet just to get in here, and after that underwater tunnel... we must be a serious ways underground. Who built this place?  
_

"Who knows." We stepped through the entryway and bam, there was the Knowing Jewel. It was kind of easy to tell that it _was _a sacred crystal of knowledge, seeing as how it was basically the center of attention in the shrine. Disregarding entirely the fact that it looked cursed, but then again, nothing in Nippon was ever that easy.

Nanami was a lot more observant than my narrating skills. "Look! There's a person on the floor!"

"... Oh. Hey, there is."

_A cursed person on the floor. _Chibi pointed out dryly.

"Uh-huh."

_... Are we just going to keep standing here talking or are we actually going to help?_

"Oh. Right. Yeah."

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"What the _hell _is that."

"What, you don't know?" Nanami edged forward on Chibi's back, grimacing. "Oh, wait, you're a human and all... that's a Water Nymph. They're generally not nice on a good day."

"It's a demon, of course it's not." I glanced over at the Water Nymph. "Now how do we fight it?"

Chibi was already trying to slash at it and doing no damage whatsoever.

"I think... hang on." The mermaid girl concentrated. "There's this saying in the Dragon Palace about these Water Nymphs... something about wind..."

Chibi's ears perked up and with one swift movement, he was already using Galestorm and attacking the core of the Water Nymph.

_Got it!_

"... Oh! That works too!" Nanami decided cheerfully.

**Exiting Combat Mode**

After Chibi had taken care of the Water Nymph, the mermaid found it extremely important to repeat herself.

"... There's someone-"

She was abruptly interrupted by the person in question getting to her feet and screeching like a banshee. And effectively raging.

"The evil spirits! Where'd they go?!" The woman demanded, practically throwing a tantrum.

Nanami blinked as Chibi and I quickly backed away. "Just... um... calm down, okay...?"

_Nanami, I really don't think that's going to work... _

"Hmm? You three don't look like evil spirits."

"Far from it! I'm one of Otohime's attendants. My name is Nanami." The mermaid girl introduced, back in a cheerful mood. This little guy is Squ-"

"_Chibi._" I interrupted hurriedly. Nanami pouted and the young sun god just shot me a grateful look. "I'm Lilac."

"Charmed." The older woman nodded at us. "I'm Shikibu. I'm not only a writer, but a poet as well, and I guard the Sage Shrine."

Something in my brain snapped.

"You're a _what._"

Offscreen, the authoress of the overall tale could be heard cackling madly.

Nanami didn't notice. "So what happened? Did someone try to hurt you?"

_She was lying on the floor cursed, Nanami. I think that's enough of an answer-can you STILL not hear me?! _Chibi whined irritably.

Shikibu's face fell. "An enormous evil spirit crashed in here and went inside the Knowing Jewel. All of the accumulated knowledge is tainted."

She then continued to rage. "Aaagh! I get so angry just _thinking _about it!"

_Her anger issues are worse than mine... _My eye twitched.

"We came here to _use _the Knowing Jewel." Nanami sighed. "Now what? You two need to find out about this Akuro, right?"

"Since I don't trust much in Kurow's observation skills..." I shrugged. Chibi nodded.

"Did you say Akuro?" Shikibu spoke up. "I saw the name inside the Knowing Jewel."

"You did?" Nanami perked up instantly.

The in-universe author nodded and then paused. "I have a proposition for you. Rid this place of evil spirits, and I'll tell you all I can glean about this Akuro from the jewel."

_We have to do it._ Chibi decided. _We need to know as much about him as we can if we're going to stop him._

"You will? But I thought you said the Knowing Jewel had been possessed." Nanami blinked.

"Leave that to me. As long as none of the evil spirits interfere, I can cleanse the jewel."

"... Isn't that convenient."

This was shaping up to feel a lot like one of those mandatory sidequests.

"Then by all means, please do it." Our mermaid partner's eyes gleamed. "Lucky us, huh?"

"Yeah... lucky..." I muttered.

_Nothing is this easy. There has to be SOME catch._

_Liiiii are you jinxing us again?_

... no?

"Very well. I will now cleanse the Knowing Jewel of the evil inside."

And so Shikibu turned around and began throwing a tantrum at the Knowing Jewel.

"_Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaargh!_"

"... I wish she could be a little more quiet about it..." Nanami muttered. I covered Chibi's ears for him.

And somehow, the author's method of cleansing the jewel worked. The murky brown cloud veiling it lifted, and the Knowing Jewel shone with rainbows and joy.

"... Everything is good now. I will now tell you what you need to know about Akuro."

_Wait a second, that's it? We didn't even have to do anything? _Chibi asked excitedly.

Everything was abruptly cut off by the unmistakable sound of giggling in the background. Shikibu sweatdropped.

"... Oh _no_, not him..." She whirled around. "I know it's you, Genji!"

And then it became obvious that I'd seen everything in Nippon.

Including the most romance-fic oriented Gary Stu to ever exist.

And yes, I knew my fundamentals. I _do _kinda have Senom breathing down my neck 24/7, you know.

... Speaking of Senom, she actually wasn't commenting. Probably having a silent sort of seizure.

"Clever girl," Genji remarked in the gayest voice I'd honestly ever heard and began sparkling. "Tell me, how long has it been, my love?"

"I changed my mind on every opinion I've ever had of Waka." My eye twitched. "Chibi, your dad's awesome compared to this guy."

_... Thanks. I guess._

"Why is this _happening_?!" Shikibu demanded, irritation thinly veiled in her tone. "Why are you a floating spirit, and what are you doing outside of the jewel?"

"Would you look at that... I am a spirit." Genji didn't look as depressed as he was trying to come off as. "But I prefer the term _incorporeal entity._"

"Just get back inside the Knowing Jewel already." The author growled. "You don't belong in this world, and it _certainly _doesn't need you!"

"You shouldn't address your creations like that..."

"You WROTE this fruitcake?!" I demanded. Shikibu faltered.

"Well... yes, but..."

"And why do we have to fight when we could talk about love?" The abomination of nature questioned. "All blustering aside, I should be true to myself-follow my heart."

"_What _in the world are you going on about?!" Shikibu threw a mini-tantrum. "_Kiyaaaaaaaaah! _I should have never written that romance novel!"

She then whirled around to face us. "You three! You get rid of pesky spirits? Get rid of this one!"

There was a brief pause. Chibi and I both turned to notice that Nanami's face had went red.

"... but he's so cute..." She mumbled. I smacked my forehead and began shaking her by the shoulders.

"Ohhhh no. No no no no _no _you don't, Nanami! That _thing _is not cute, it's exactly what we don't need in any world ever, written or reality! DO NOT LET IT SUCK YOU IN."

It was about too late, as Genji floated over. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, little mermaid. I think I feel my heart stirring again-how would you like to be my new paramour?"

I drew out an Exorcism Slip L and pointed it at him.

"Get. Away. From. Both. Her. And. Myself. Now. If you want to keep that pretty face."

"I don't know... I mean... I..." Nanami seemed to not notice me fighting to snap her back to her senses.

"Agh, what do I need to do? Sing and swap up your emotions?!"

_You can do that?_

"Well, yeah..."

"Don't fall for his charms!" Shikibu shrieked. "He's a _pestilence _to all women!"

"I'll agree with that." I flicked my wrist, Exorcism Slip still aimed at Genji. He gave me a dull look.

"And who are you?"

Back offset, Senom got out of her director's chair. If anyone was looking closely enough, her glasses had cracked.

"I'm not allowing this." The authoress growled. "I've been tolerant of a lot of things in my stories, particularly a Mary Sue as my main protagonist-"

"WHAT did you just call me?!"

"-but this... this crosses every line I've drawn." Senom drew out her mechanical pencil. "So I'm going to solve all of Shikibu's problems-fairly easily."

**Initiating Combat Mode!**

And then suddenly, everything turned into an RPG.

"Wait a minute, why is everything eight-bit?!"

**Wild GENJI appeared!**

**Authoress SENOM299 sent out LILAC!  
**

"... We are NOT ripping off Pokemon and effectively ruining the entire chapter." I muttered.

"Oh, yes we are!" Senom began to cackle madly.

**Wild GENJI used Charm!**

Genji just waved his fan back and forth. "Now, really. Why do we have to fight while we could talk about love?"

**... But it failed!**

"Not a chance." I gritted my teeth and released my Exorcism, which had been sparking with energy just waiting to be used.

**LILAC used Exorcism Slip L!**

As Genji shrieked like a little girl, Senom continued cackling. Offscreen, Emil wordlessly handed the author her pills.

"... Oh, thanks."

**SENOM used a pill! SENOM's Sanity stat went up!**

"Wait a second, that wasn't supposed to happen! Are you people _trying _to keep this series from being finished?!"

**Wild GENJI used Sparkle!**

Genji then took the opportunity to grab some of his sparkles out of the air, because honestly we'd already broken the fourth wall beyond all measure, and threw them in our general direction.

"OH GOD I CAN'T SEE."

**It was super effective!**

**CHIBITERASU used Holy Arrow!**

Genji began screaming like a little girl again and doubled over in midair. Chibi just grinned innocently.

_I thought I'd help out._

"Good Chibi. Best sun god."

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

While Senom was restrained offscreen. Shikibu stood over her arrow-impaled Gary Stu.

"Sh-Shikibu! Please! Help me!" Genji whined pitifully.

"Ah, poor Genji..." The in-universe author mused. "I hope you learned something here today."

Meanwhile I was still in the background trying to get the glitter out of my eyes.

"Oh, yes, I think I have, my dearest Shikibu. I don't think I can ask for your forgiveness." Her creation stuttered.

And then suddenly the arrows in his body disappeared spontaneously and he rose up.

"But I do know that I cannot live without you, and I know that you can't live without me! Fly to my arms, my dearest Shikibu!"

Finally rubbing the last of the sparkles out of my eyes, I was just in time to witness Shikibu smacking him upside the head with a giant-for her size, anyway-paintbrush.

"YOU HAVEN'T LEARNED A _THING_!" She raged. "I can write you, and I can _un_write you!"

She slashed at him fiercely. "All good writers know..." Another slash, and he was gone. "... when to end a story!"

The older woman finally doubled over to catch her breath, panting heavily. I sweatdropped as the fourth wall was repaired behind us. "... I thought that I had created the perfect man," she murmured guiltily. "Instead, I made a selfish womanizer... I suppose every story I write can't be a masterpiece."

"Don't wanna cross her when she gets angry..." Nanami blinked.

"Hmm? Did you say something, dear?" Shikibu turned around.

"Uh, no! Nothing from me! ... But did you learn anything about Akuro?"

"Ah, yes. That... Follow me." The author led us back to the Knowing Jewel. "The jewel has been cleansed. Touch it as you hold Akuro in your thoughts. You will then know all that you need to."

And so we headed up in front of the Jewel.

"I've never seen this Akuro before..." Nanami said softly, turning to Chibi. "Will you hold my hand as I touch it?"

_I have paws. OF COURSE I CAN'T._

I sighed. "I'll do it. I'll keep a hand on Chibi so he can see, too."

"Oh! Have you seen Akuro before, Elza?"

I blinked. "Well, yeah, Chibi and I both have..."

"Then you should be the one to touch the Knowing Jewel!" Nanami interrupted. "It's Squiddy's question and yours, after all."

"... Yeah, I guess." I turned to glance at the Knowing Jewel. Nanami took up Chibi's paw, despite his protests, and held my free hand as I rested the other against the crystal.

_Akuro, the heir to the throne of darkness. ... Please, give us all the information you have on him._

The prayer was answered almost immediately as letters formed in my mind. The letters melded to form words, the words to sentences. What we needed was here. I knew it.

_"Akuro is pure darkness with a will of its own." _The words spilled from my mouth before I knew I was saying them aloud. _"As it lacks a true corporeal form, its activities are limited. It requires a _yorishiro_-a vessel to occupy. In the past, it used Yami as a vessel. But for Akuro to express its full power... it needs to inhabit a vessel of light."_

_Akuro was Yami... _Chibi trailed off uncertainly. _But that means-_

_"The yin and the yang, the light and the dark: if they were to become one, then Akuro would become complete, without any imperfections. There is one condition to be met in order for this to happen: The vessel of light must be exorcised in the blood of Orochi. This is all the knowledge regarding Akuro that can be imparted._"

I began to take my hand off, but something else began to form in my mind. "Wait, there's an image of the source- oh, sweet Ammy, I should have known."

"What? What is it?" Nanami asked. I shook my head.

"You guys need to see this. Chibi especially." I let the image transfer to the other two-directly from the jewel, even though I had a hundred of my own from experience.

"The man who imparted this knowledge to the jewel was Ushiwaka of the Moon Tribe." I told them softly. "... Chibi, you know him as..."

_... that was my dad._ Chibi finished solemnly, stepping back. Nanami let go of his paw, and I let my hand slide off of the Knowing Jewel. _Of course he would know all about Akuro... he was helping you, Momma, and Issun finish off Yami. But if Akuro's back..._

"Then in essence, so is Yami." I finished. "... You know, I kind of liked him better as a baby seal in a fishbowl."

"So Yami's some sort of demon?" Nanami asked, tilting her head. I nodded.

"... Yeah. A big one. And Akuro's basically Yami revived."

_The blood of Orochi. No wonder we came back to the day of Orochi's defeat! _Chibi turned to Nanami. _Isn't tonight the full moon?_

"Well-yes, actually..."

"Then we're running out of time." I got up. "We need to head back to the Goryeo and tell Kurow what's going o-"

_Wait._

Mimiru's voice sounded in my mind.

_There's something else you should ask the Knowing Jewel why you're here._

And then, I understood.

"... Guys. Go on ahead. I'll meet you back outside the shrine." I turned back toward the Knowing Jewel. "There's something else I have to know about."

"What? What is it?" Nanami glanced at me.

"Don't worry about it. Just go."

Chibi stared at me intently, then nodded. _We'll wait on you. Try not to take too long._

And they left the Shrine after talking to Shikibu. But my attention was already back on the Knowing Jewel.

_This is my only chance._

I have to know who she really is, and who I really am.

Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand back against the jewel.

_**"Tell me everything you know about Sayuri of the Storm Tribe."**_

* * *

_And that's a wrap for Chapter 21A! Yep, it lived up to its revised title._

_So about the chapters being simultaneous... I lied. Again. But fear not, Chapter 21B will also be up this weekend! ... Considerably shorter than this one, probably, but it will be up!_

_So look out for Chapter 21B of Closer to the Rising Sun: I can't think of a title for it yet!_

_*smacked*_

**Genji: Please review, everyone!**

**Senom: ... Get. Off. My. Set. Or I'm calling your author.**


	22. B - Filling in the Gap

So in retrospect, deciding to go with Kurow might have been one of my worse decisions.

"Dude... all of Ryoshima is a cursed zone now?" He glanced around the beach, at the magenta sky and Dremon Scrolls stalking our steps. "Was this Akuro's fault back when he was Yami?"

"Looked that way." I kept a steady pace on the sand. "He had a group of minor demons that took care of terrorizing the land for him. I'd be surprised if any of them had anything to do with each other, though."

A grin slowly spread across Kurow's face. "What about the Demon Market? That should be proof that they can work together." He paused for effect. "For all we know, they all could have formed some kind of demonic council."

I coughed, trying to hide a snicker at the mental image. "Yeah, a council of _fail._"

It wasn't until we'd reached the hill overlooking Sei-An that Blight's mist finally appeared. It was only a faint green tint on the air, but it definitely held that unmistakable scent of poison. Even after nine months, I could recognize it anywhere.

"What _is _that?" Kurow pulled his scarf up to cover his lower face. He looked like a crossdressing bandit. "It's like poison in the air!"

"Yeah, you could say that." I shielded my face with my sleeve. "There's a demon that's basically a virus deeper in the city, but there's nothing we can do about that right now."

Thoughts began racing in my head. I hadn't lasted long at all out here the last time I'd been around. What was to stop me from passing out, victim to Blight's curse, just like before?

It was a risk we had to take.

_Either way, _the grim thought crossed my mind, _there's only one place we can go to get some definite information._

"... Kurow. If I don't last against this mist, there's somewhere I want you to go. If I can get through it, great, we'll go together, but this is too valuable of an opportunity to pass up."

"You think we'll find something on Akuro there?" He glanced at me, and I shrugged.

"If I know the guy who works there, I _know _we'll find something." I pointed out across the mist. "See that floating building over the fog?"

**0-0-0**

It was apparent after fifteen minutes of walking through the mist that it wasn't having any fatal effect. I hadn't passed out yet, at any rate, and I'd only coughed a few times. I didn't know _why _I was immune-or Kurow, for that matter-but we definitely weren't complaining.

"It's worse than the ruins in here," the Moon Tribe boy grumbled from behind his scarf. "Like a tomb."

... Okay, _I _wasn't complaining. Kurow was just being Kurow.

"It would end up being one if it weren't for Chibi's mom," I pointed out. "Amaterasu comes down to Ryoshima Coast tomorrow from now in the timeline. Sei-An'll be witnessing Great Divine Intervention and back to normal in less than three days."

"... You're pretty well versed in Nippon's history." He remarked, stopping in the middle of the path. "For an eight year old. Oh, wait, you're _not._ How old are you really?"

I sighed, stopping in my tracks. "Look, I'm sorry we never told you about the curse, but it _never came up. _I'm fifteen."

"Uh-huh." Kurow stared off into the distance, then glanced back at me. "So don't we have somewhere to go?"

"You can fly up there. There's another way, but..." I coughed. "I sort of... lost my method."

"Your what?"

"... Long story." I turned around. "... I'll be right back. I've got an idea."

Ten minutes and a few hundred yen later, I came back with a plain wooden paintbrush in hand and prayers in mind. "If this doesn't do the trick, you're going up there alone."

"Where are we even going, anywa-are you _serious?_" Kurow dropped his scarf from his face while I busied myself painting a stroke from a small pond upwards.

"More serious than you could ever be." I stepped back, letting my hand fall as a burst of water erupted from the pond and traveled upward. "... Huh, I always wondered how much water was really in that pond. Since it goes all the way up there..."

"It- ooooh, no, dude. No, no, _no._ I'm not getting anywhere near that thing." Kurow got his wings out and hovered in front of me, arms crossed. "You enjoy yourself getting wet. I'm just gonna fly up there."

I shrugged, stepping up to the current. "Suit yourself. See you in a few minutes."

Kurow rolled his eyes and flew off while I stepped into the water and headed up with its flow. It didn't take long to reach the top-the water seemed to flow faster than it usually did whenever Waterspout was used.

I just grinned to myself, sliding the paintbrush into one of my belt loops. I could use brush techniques again, and that in itself just felt good after so long.

The water finally reached its limit right in front of the floating building. Kurow was already waiting for me, arms crossed and tapping one stilted foot against the tile.

"What is this place, anyway?" He demanded as I jumped off and brushed off my skirt.

"I know the guy who works here," I explained absentmindedly, trying to take the place in. "If we're lucky, he's recorded the data we need here."

"I've never even _seen_ this place," Kurow muttered, pulling his scarf down. I shrugged.

"Then learn how to look up."

In all actuality, I'd never really paid the Tao Trooper base any mind. In all of my playthroughs of Okami, I'd always opted to ignore it completely after failing to retrieve Abe's mask. That didn't mean I didn't know about the place or it's inhabitants.

Speaking of, something was missing...

_Wasn't there someone outside the door on duty...? Yeah, there definitely was. What was his name agai-_

Before I could finish that thought, the doors to the main building swung open, and out came a very disgruntled-looking Trooper.

"He _really _thinks the captain would skin him alive for a _mask,_" He muttered, shaking his head before noticing Kurow and I. "Oh! You two must be..."

"Lilac and Kurow." I filled in. "... Wait, was Waka expecting us?"

"The captain? Oh, yes-well, he told us to expect you. The captain's out right now." The Trooper shrugged. "I'm Kamo, by the way."

_... Yeah, that was it._

"He didn't tell us where he was going, of course, but he did set up a terminal inside with specific instructions for my partner and I to let you in."

"Must have _seen us coming_," I muttered under my breath before nodding gratefully. "Thanks, Kamo. And tell your captain we said so when he's back."

Kurow glanced between Kamo and I and ultimately seemed to decide to keep his mouth shut until we walked in. "Who _is _this Waka guy, anyway? Was he, like, important in the city...?"

"Pretty important. Not politics important, I think, but still important." I paused and glanced around. The other Tao Trooper, Abe, was nowhere to be seen. _Probably freaking out about his missing mask. _"... Waka's a prophet and a member of the Moon Tribe-like you. You two look alike, too."

"Huh." Kurow lost interest and headed over to one of the terminals lining the hall. "... Hey, this is it!"

"Really?" I headed over and stopped behind him. "... Kurow, that's all written in your language."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll switch it to your language." He muttered, working at the keys for a moment before drawing back. It switched to English characters, surprisingly enough.

_The language barrier can wait. Right now..._

I scanned over the text showing up on the holographic screen. All of it definitely pertained to Akuro-and lucky for us, it was straight to the point.

_"Akuro is pure darkness with a will of its own. As it lacks a true corporeal form, its activities are limited. It requires a _yorishiro_-a vessel to occupy. In the past, it used Yami as a vessel. But for Akuro to express its full power... it needs to inhabit a vessel of light."_

Kurow looked surprisingly serious for once, eyes flickering over the text and taking it in rapidly. It was almost frightening.

_The yin and the yang, the light and the dark: if they were to become one, then Akuro would become complete, without any imperfections. _

The Moon Tribe boy finally spoke up. "Dude... if he gets that vessel of light, or worse, if he already has one..."

"_Without any imperfections _would entail that it'd be impossible for us to stop him." My breath caught in my throat. Kurow drew his hand down the hologram, scrolling it down.

"_ There is one condition to be met in order for this to happen: The vessel of light must be exorcised in the blood of Orochi._"

"That's it." Kurow snapped his fingers. "That's what he meant by 'words with Orochi before he meets his end'-after his end, more like."

"That's all it says on Akuro here." I glanced over the hologram. "I guess that's all we came for..."

"No, wait." Kurow's attention snapped back on the screen and he typed in something. "There was another tab open. He must have left it for us."

The tab came, then froze.

"I know a dude who needs to take care of his tech," Kurow muttered, but my attention was already drawn on the screen.

"Wait." I pulled on his arm. "Kurow, the information's _there._ He knew I would be coming here with you."

"What do you me-"

He cut off, staring at the screen.

"Yeah. He knew." He muttered, blinking.

The tab we'd found was labeled **Storm Tribe**, followed by the name 'Sayuri' in brackets.

I could almost see Waka in my mind about then, giving me an expectant look as if to ask, _What are you waiting for? _

I glanced at the screen and let out a long breath.

_**"Tell me everything you know about Sayuri of the Storm Tribe."**_


	23. Fall of the Goryeo

_**"Tell me everything you know about Sayuri of the Storm Tribe."**_

_The Storm Tribe settled in Nippon by means forgotten, from a place forgotten, many centuries ago. It is debatable that they were among the first peoples of Nippon, but not certain. Whatever their origins, they vanished as quickly as they had come._

_Kiku Sayuri was the last living member of the Storm Tribe after the main village, Kaihinmura, was raided by demons. She was responsible for the creation of the twin demons of Kamui, Lechku and Nechku, and also for bringing them to their domain. In her youth, she was referred to as the 'junk heap' girl and generally Kaihinmura's repairwoman._

_A terrible event was to occur by the talons of her creations, and Sayuri could not let herself rest knowing she was responsible. The Storm Tribe member fought fate, time, and death themselves to right her wrong, defying all set balances in nature and gaining an enemy in fate particularly. She would let nothing stop her in averting the catastrophe of the future._

_She still lets nothing stand in her way, and her spirit will not rest until the path to that moment has been paved in the stone that history is written upon._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Tread with care, chosen of the Storm Tribe, because the gears of fate have long been reset. You have been set on your path; all you must do is face the destiny that was given to you, and in trust in those who have given it._

**0-0-0**

"Man, that felt like a waste of time."

_Really? I feel like we learned something._

"I think we did..."

A while after either scenario, Kurow, Chibi and I were back together, and Nanami had headed off to chase the catfish from chapter 11. And the Goryeo was moving on a steady pace for the coast.

"I mean, I know Akuro's in this time, but it beats me as to where he went." Kurow grumbled, tugging on his scarf slightly. "What's worse is, we don't even have a clue as to what he's up to..."

Chibi and I exchanged a look.

"_The blood of Orochi,_" We chorused.

"The wha-ohhhh, _duh_." Kurow facepalmed. "Should've remembered I _did _dig something up..."

Chibi tilted his head. _So you got the same thing we did._

"Yeah. None of it makes sense, though." He sighed. Chibi suddenly pawed at his brother's side, looking slightly curious.

_Didn't Issun give us a history scroll earlier? Maybe that'll give us a clue._

"... Wait, what history scroll when?" Kurow blinked.

"Must've happened offscreen," I muttered as he pulled out the mystery scroll and began reading it aloud.

"Orochi was defeated by Amaterasu on the fifteenth night at the Moon Cave... at least, that's what it says here."

"The fifteenth night?" I paused. "... Anyone know what day it is?"

"... um... tonight is the fifteenth night." Kurow paled, then snapped his fingers. "You know what? I betcha Akuro's going to steal the blood from Orochi's corpse! That guy doesn't _need _to be any more powerful. C'mon, you two! We need to get to the Moon Cave on the double!"

_No time for the Goryeo... _Chibi sounded almost upset to see it go. Or, well, I wasn't, and I was interpreting his as a signal to _get the flying fudgenuggets off this boat._

Kurow tried to pick Chibi up to carry him into midair, but finally dropped him in expaseration. "Hold on, boy. Did you, like, get a bit pudgy or something, dude?"

_My weight is FINE, thanks! Unlike a certain mermaid I know! _Chibi snapped irritably. I clapped a hand over my mouth.

"You are so lucky Nanami's long gone and can't hear you..."

Kurow just crossed his arms over his chest and gave Chibi a look. "What the heck are you carrying around?"

The young god gave him a pitiful look before pulling out the Lucky Mallet. _I was hoping we could keep it... I mean, it could be useful! What if we need to get through a tiny crack or something?_

"I don't think we'll need to..." I muttered, staring at the mallet. Kurow just shook his head.

"If I'm gonna move quickly, you're gonna have to leave it behind, okay?"

While Chibi began pouting, the captain suddenly appeared behind us. Because he had a boat on his head, and obviously this explained everything.

... wait, what?

"Don't worry about it. I'll take good care of it." The captain took the Lucky Mallet from Chibi. "We're gonna return to the city. Just drop by and pick it up later."

The boat began rocking slightly and the distinct sound of something moving through the water aside from the Goryeo rumbled under our conversation. Something in my stomach clenched as I looked at the mallet.

"Guys." I muttered.

"Thanks, captain!" Kurow beamed.

"Guys..."

"Look! Otohime's come back!" A sailor yelled from the deck. I groaned irritably.

"GUYS."

"_What?!_"

It was about then that the Water Dragon reared his head over the Goryeo, a good thirty feet over our heads, unleashing an eardrum-shattering roar.

I just shook my head. "I was going to warn you, but I think it's too late for that now."

"It's not her... it's..." The captain stared skyward. "It's the Water Dragon!"

Otohime's husband let out another roar and slammed his head into the ship, rocking the Goryeo violently. I slid off balance and onto my knees, twisting my ankle.

Again.

"Oh god, ow, ow, ow, not this again..."

"H-he's pretty diesel!" Kurow just stood there and stared with the others while I dragged myself back up, only to be thrown off balance again. "That barracuda is gonna sink this boat if we don't stop him!"

"A little help, here?!"

"... These dudes helped us, so we gotta return the favor!"

"Do I just not exist anymore?!"

"Ready, boy?" Kurow whipped out his flute. "Let's do this!"

"Halt. We don't need your help with this sea fodder." The captain blocked their path, expression grim.

"What are you _doing_, Captain?!" Kurow demanded.

"All me men are seafarers with nerves of steel," the man responded. "You would only get in the way."

"No way, dude! That snake's too powerful for humans to handle!" The Moon Tribe boy snapped. I groaned and pushed myself back to my feet, stumbling back over. "We can d-"

"No! You have a more important task at hand!" The captain barked. "Go! Leave this to us!"

Kurow faltered as the old sailor from our confrontation with Benkei strode up behind us. "Don't worry, kid. We're men of the sea. This boat'll be _fine_."

"Old dude! ... Wait, you're crazy if you think you can fight _that_!"

The old man cackled as he pushed past us. "Ah, you young'uns, so eager to get your chance... but us old people still got a trick or two left! As long as my ticker keeps ticking, I'm gonna keep fighting!"

And then suddenly he burst into flames.

"I'm not ready to shuffle off this mortal coil... not by a long shot! In fact, I feel sorry for this Water Dragon 'cause he has to face _me! _My blood is boiling, and _he's gonna feel it!_"

I just blinked. "... Someone forgot his meds this morning."

"See? What did I tell you?" The captain forced a laugh. "We've got it all under control."

_Under contro-THAT MAN IS ON FIRE! YOU CALL THIS UNDER CONTROL?!_

"... I guess you do," Kurow conceded. Chibi and I both whirled around to face him.

"_Are you INSANE?!_"

Kurow just swooped down to haul Chibi off his feet and nodded at me. "We'll meet you on the way to the Moon Cave. You've got your telport thing, right?"

I pulled out Oni's stopwatch and nodded grimly, taking a moment to glance around the Goryeo. Its fate would be found in nine months.

And my prayers went to the souls on that ship.

"I'll see you guys there." I told them, twisting the dial. Kurow nodded back and took off, heading out into the ocean. I turned to the captain as the stopwatch's tower spirited me away.

"Good luck."

**0-0-0**

We met back up in Shinshu Field, making an instant break for the Moon Cave. The sun had already begun to set by the time we passed up the Moon Shrine.

"We should find Orochi in the Moon Cave there," Kurow muttered, glancing up ahead. "If the history scroll is right, Amaterasu and Kushi should be there, too."

"We probably shouldn't get involved with them." I pointed out. "If we stay out of the way, we won't disturb the balance of the timeline. Or whatever it is."

_Because you were here with Momma, _Chibi pointed out. I grinned.

"I don't think I'd want to see myself like this, even if it _didn't _defy whatever rules there are to time travel."

Our partner's attention had already been directed. "Hey, look! There's some dude!"

Chibi and I instantly sweatdropped at the familiar purple-clothed 'warrior' ahead.

I'll give you three guesses as to who it was.

Was it Issun with the Lucky Mallet? No, we hadn't gotten it yet at that point in the timeline.

Was it Kuni? Kuni didn't have facial hair.

Was it Susano? Here, have a cookie for your efforts.

"You know that guy?" Kurow raised an eyebrow. We both nodded dully.

"Oh, yeah, we know him..." I grumbled. "You're looking at Susano of Kamiki."

"Get out of here! You mean _that's _the great Susano?" Kurow pulled out the history scroll and looked over it.

_Not so great if you ask me... _Chibi sighed.

"Then he must be on his way to put down Orochi. I know that's what goes down, but I still can't believe he's the one..."

"To be honest? None of us really did." I shrugged while Kurow floated ahead.

"Yo, dude!"

"... Kurow, you didn't hear a word I said about _don't get involved_, did you."

"Wh-who goes there!?" Kuni's 'father' whirled around, pointing his wooden sword at us. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Kurow twirled his flute, grinning like an idiot. "The name's Kurow. All you need to know is that I came here on a shooting star."

"He didn't need to know _that._" I muttered irritably, taking up the rear of the party again.

"This pup here's my partner. He's good at fighting off demons."

Chibi puffed his chest up as best he could despite his wolf form. _Of course I am!  
_

"And that's Li." Kurow waved a hand toward me.

"... A demon fighting pup? That seems to be the trend with dogs these days." Susano mused. "In fact, you're a dead ringer for a certain pup I know..."

_My mother is not a PUP!_

"Chibi, believe me, he could have called her something worse..."

"So, what are you, like, doing here, dude?" Kurow cut in quickly. Susano's face fell and the 'great warrior' slumped over.

"... The woman I love is going to be sacrificed to that foul beast, Orochi. Fido and the bug already went to the cave. I should be there right now, standing by their side..."

"Right, just like in the scroll." The Moon Tribe boy muttered.

_Li, I thought you'd been with them...?_

"He probably forgot me." I shook my head. "I tried to stay out of the way, pretty much..."

"Huh?" Susano glanced up. For one split second, we all thought he was onto us, but then it became obvious his attention was out in Lake Harami-on a child floating in the water.

"What's up, dude?" Kurow asked slowly.

"You don't see something floating in the water there?" Susano paused. "It's a _child_! He looks hurt!"

Chibi suddenly started barking. _Li, it's him! It's Kuni!_

"Oh my god, you're right." I clapped a hand to my mouth. Because, y'know. It kind of _was _Kuni.

"That kid's the Kuni guy you were talking about?" Kurow glanced over at us as Susano dived into the water and swam for our old partner.

"Yeah, that's definitely him." I lowered my hand, staring out at the water. "That's how Kuni came to be Susano's 'son'... but if this was where he finds him, where did Kuni really come from?"

_... _Chibi just watched. _I don't know..._

Susano came back moments later, panting and carrying Kuni out of the water. "He's not breathing!"

"... None of you look at me, because I'm not doing CPR."

_CPwhat?_

"You'll find out when you're older."

Thankfully enough, Kurow and I (because Chibi obviously couldn't) didn't have to step in-we just had to watch Susano do the job.

Which was disturbing in his own right, but also... uncharacteristically heroic of him.

After a few seconds, Kuni started coughing up water in his future adopted father's face, and the man relented. "Thank the gods, he's breathing again..."

_The gods... Li, he has faith in the gods. _Chibi pointed out softly, not taking his eyes off Kuni.

"Yeah." I muttered. "Yeah, I know."

"... I have to rescue Kushi. I can't take a child with me." Susano pointed out, getting to his feet. "I need to find a safe place for him... ah, there we go!"

_Something makes me doubt he'll be safe in there. _Chibi stared at the Moon Shrine, hauling Kuni onto his back. _The man in there keeps waving a stick around._

Either way, we were confronted by Steve and Hal-I mean, two Imps on the way there.

"This poor child... I won't let any demons touch him! Not on my watch!" Susano declared. Kurow and I exchanged a nod as he drew his flute and I drew out Dreamcatcher.

**Initiating Combat Mode.**

Apparently there were two barriers, because when we began the battle, Kurow and I were the only ones fighting.

"Dude and Susano must be in the other barrier." Kurow decided.

"Looks that way." I glanced at him. "You take the one on the left..."

"You take the one on the right." He grinned, lifting his flute to his lips. "Let's tango."

"... No. No. _Never _say that again."

"Wha-"

"Just don't."

Moments later, it was obvious why Kurow could attack demons with music notes-it was because his flute playing was _awful._ Obviously, his father hadn't taught him how to properly play the thing.

... It _did _get the job done, so unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to complain.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

We met back up with Chibi and Susano back on the pathway, the latter holding Kuni in his arms. "Nice work, pup. I'll bring him to the Moon Shrine. You three wait out here."

As he headed in, Kurow turned to me. "You know... he hasn't said a word to or about you this whole time."

"Blame uncreative writing." I muttered. Suddenly, there was a click and an automated sound clip of a booing and jeering crowd. "... Oh, COME ON!"

"I don't think our readers liked that, Li!" Senom called from offscreen, standing up on her director's chair. "I think you should apologize to your poor author after all the work she's done!"

"I'M NOT APOLOGIZING FOR ANYTHING!"

Senom paused and then sighed, slumping back down in her chair. "Whatever. Just... continue the chapter, we're almost done here."

Susano chose to came back out right about then as the curtain that constituted briefly as the fourth wall was replaced. "I'll call on the priest after I've rescued Kushi."

"Sounds like a plan." Kurow nodded. And the hero of the plot arc turned toward the Moon Cave, intent on one thing.

"All right; I'm coming for you, Kushi!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

_*grumbles about stupid ungrateful OCs*_

_... Oh, right, author's note._

Yes, I know that I uploaded these past two chapters without one. That's because I was saving everything until when I finished.

_First off: Review thanking. Thanks to __**Daughter of Kabegami, Heat Haze Days, TheManWithBacon, **__and __**OkamiAmaterasu2015**__! Thank you all for your continued support._

_I finished chapter 21B two nights ago, actually, but neglected to upload because it was too short. And since Chapter 22 was also a bit short, I figured I'd just upload them together._

So, since she's out of the picture for right now, we'll turn the disclaimer and review request over to Nanami.

**Nanami: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or it's corresponding characters, and only owns her OCs! Also, no old men were harmed in the making of this chapter. ... Whatever that means.**

**Chibi: HE WAS **_**ON FIRE! **_**HOW IS THAT CONSIDERED 'UNDER CONTROL'?!**

**Nanami: ... Also, please review! The authoress also wanted me to say that things will resume to normal next chapter as far as formatting goes.**

**Senom: *continues grumbling about ungrateful OCs***


	24. A Legend Relived

_Welcome to a slightly longer chapter of Closer to the Rising Sun! I am very proud to announce that, yes, we are officially back on schedule!_

Finally.

_A note before we open up this chapter: I contradicted basic biology in this chapter. More than once. But this series is based off a series that's all about contradicting everything logical, so that's okay, right?... right?_

Now then: thanks to _**Daughter of Kabegami**__ for reviewing!_

... wow, just one? That's a bit disappointing. After I uploaded two whole chapters, too.  


_Ah, well, that's what I get for being the archive jester. Now, not back in-chapter but back in-author note, we have an old friend for the disclaimer!_

**Hal: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or it's corresponding characters. She only owns her OCs. Now here's a real bargain for you: review this chapter and get ten free boxes of Orochi Scout Cookies of choice! Isn't that a steal?**

Lilac: ... Wait, did you actually steal those?

Hal: The Hana Valley troop never saw it coming.

**0-0-0-0-0**

I don't know why some deep down part of me had thought that getting to Orochi would be _easy._

Maybe it was because it had taken so damn long when I'd originally been here at this point in the timeline and I was begging the gods to let us off easy. Obviously, the gods had decided it was 'let's all ignore Lilac's prayers' day.

It would explain the giant door blocking the path to the demon snake's room, anyway.

There was a brief pause as Chibi, Kurow, and I stared up at the door.

"... sooooo now what?" Kurow finally asked, blinking.

"... Can't you fly over it?"

"Yeah, but what about you two?"

"You can carry Chibi and leave me out here."

"Nice try."

Chibi glanced around, then turned toward a tunnel beside the door. _I guess we have to take the long way around._

"Why can't we ever take the shortcut around?" I grumbled as we descended through said tunnel. "Why is it always the _long _way around, does anyone know the answer to that one?"

Kurow just rolled his eyes as we skipped over a fight scene and came up to two Imps guarding a door.

"Who goes there?!" One of them barked. "Stay back, or I'll call for reinforcements! You hear me? Get back!"

_You don't have to be so mean about it... _Chibi whimpered. Kurow sighed.

"Bummer. We've gotta get to Orochi somehow..."

"You _could _just fly over the door."

"And we _could _just keep looking for another way in."

And so we did.

And about ten minutes later, because lazy authors as usual, we stumbled upon a (very conveniently placed) treasure chest with three sheets of paper.

Which could very easily double as Imp masks.

"Dude!" Kurow grinned broadly. "This is just like that one time! We just draw faces and we're golden!"

I whipped out my paintbrush. "Hold up. I get to paint mine. I'll be nice and say Chibi can do Kurow's."

Chibi blinked. _... Okay, I guess._

I just snickered and ran the brush over the page.

Two minutes later, Chibi was wearing a mask with shades that read 'SWAG' under it (running gag detected, anyone?), Kurow was busy complaining about his 'monocle', and I was just too busy giggling behind my own.

I'll give you a hint: _Like a boss._

_I don't get it. _Chibi tilted his head. _I liked the one I made for you better._

"Sometimes you just want to change." I shrugged as we strode up to the Imps.

"What are you doing here?! Get inside! There's much work to be done!" One of the two guards raged.

"Sorry, dude. We just wanted some fresh air." Kurow shrugged as we headed past them and into the Moon Cave.

"... So, any idea where we should head first?" He muttered. I shrugged, glancing around through the fibers of the mask.

"I dunno, how about the door with the giant skull over it? That might be a good start."

And so we did.

"You can see the throne room from the top of this hill," The Imp on guard declared. "... you're out of luck. Nobody gets to see the throne room. I don't care who you are or how ugly you are-"

"Guess that rules out Kurow, then."

"HEY!"

"-_nobody's _getting past!" The Imp crossed his arms defiantly. Chibi sighed.

_It's always something, isn't it?_

"Yeah..."

The Imp suddenly seemed to ignore us. "Aaaagh... standing on guard all day is the pits. I could really go for a drink... even some of Orochi's Secret Stash, but that'd just make me fall asleep..."

Chibi and I exchanged a knowing look.

"Orochi's Secret Stash?"

_Orochi's Secret Stash._

And so the three of us headed into the next available area: a dungeon.

_... Holy... _Chibi breathed out, staring around. _This is awful! Why would they be imprisoning innocent humans in here?!  
_  
"... Because they're demons?" Kurow drawled.

_Well, yeah, obviously, but still! I thought even after the Demon Market..._

I paused, glancing around as Chibi painted the Magnetism symbol on a booby-trapped cell and drew out the key. "I doubt the Demon Market has been established yet."

_Here, I've got the key. Let's just let them out alrea-_

"Dude, that's the wrong key."

_... WHAT?!_

None of the cells would open except for the door on the end, which opened up on two switched and another keyhole.__

"Maybe if we press both switches, it'll open up the other cells." Kurow pointed out. "C'mon, let's try it." He jumped on one of the two switches, turning around. "One of you must need to get on the other.

"I'll do it." I stepped on the other switch, turning around just as a distant rumbling spread through the cave. "... that doesn't sound like cell doors openi-"

I was cut off by a loud clang as a metal cage fell from the ceiling.

"... Are you KIDDING me."

Kurow blinked from over on the other switch before promptly falling back on the floor and laughing like a maniac.

"Dude, that was _priceless_!"

"Will you shut up and get me out of this thing?!" I snapped irritably. Chibi stared at me mournfully. "There's probably a key somewhere in this cave. If we're lucky, it'll open up the other cells."

_Yeah, if we're lucky._ He continued staring for a few minutes before hauling Kurow on his back and running off into the dungeon while I just slid down on the switch and buried my face in my hands.

"Why couldn't it have been Kurow?!"

_Maybe it's better that you're stuck in here. _Mimiru commented, voicing her opinion for the first time in a while.

"You'd better have dug up some information..."

_Sorry to disappoint you. Except for what you uncovered earlier today, I haven't found anything. _The manifestation paused. _But there is something you should see. Hope you're not afraid of biology class._

Before I could press further, I felt myself being dragged down into my subconscious. Instead of the chessboard tile, I was standing on some black liquid. Mimiru turned around from in front of me.

"Your heart's been pumping out black blood since I entered you. For every, say, thirty red blood cells that make the circulation, five of them come back out black."

"What?" I glanced down. "I don't even see-wait, this is _my heart?_"

The manifestation nodded and gestured to a large, pulsing sac that towered above us. "Well, that is. But the black blood isn't what worries me the most-_that _is."

She pointed upward, to a glowing silhouette that was bound to my heart in chains. My breath caught in my throat and I swore I saw-and felt-my heart pause for a moment.

"Sayuri." I whispered. "What the hell is _she _doing inside me?!"

"I'm not too well versed in the composition of the human body. I'm just the one who wipes the floor clean of your blood, not the one who examines its 'finer workings'. But if I had to take a guess..." Mimiru's forehead creased. "There. There are some white specks coming out of the blood cells and drawing to her."

"Red blood cells just carry oxygen to the heart, right?" Shut up, I hadn't been the smartest biology student of the bunch myself. "But if they're giving her the oxygen and not my heart like they're supposed t-"

"That's not oxygen." Mimiru shook her head. "That's strands of DNA. I've been watching here for a little over an hour now, and every one of your cells has been carrying it. Each one sent that DNA to her. Ignore the black blood-it's probably a side effect of my existence. The real question here is, why is Kiku Sayuri taking in your genetic data? Why is she taking your 'blueprint of life'?"

I stared at the glowing figure for a few more minutes and shook my head.

"I don't know."

"I think," the agent of fate decided, turning back to me, "that we're getting just a bit closer to figuring all this out. But I wasn't implanted in you to solve your biological issues-I'm here to eliminate you. I guess I'm a bit too merciful to my own good."

"I guess I should be thanking you." I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't. Yet. You can thank me when my axe is over your head." Mimiru sighed. "Enough of this. Do you want to know how you're going to be executed?"

She gestured toward my heart again. "It would be so easy to just cut through that right now, wouldn't it? Easy, but it doesn't have any sport to yet. I'll be squaring off with you in combat."

"Basically, you're my final boss battle." I shocked myself with how calm I was about this.

"You could say that." The manifestation and I both rose up and reappeared on the chessboard. "... I'm on a time limit to kill you." She admitted. "Under usual circumstances, we're to eliminate your kind within five days. This is the fifth day."

"What happens if you don't?"

"..." Mimiru shook her head. "That would be cheating. Right now, you have five hours left-if I'm feeling kind enough to wait that long."

I paused, then glanced up.

"... What happens if I beat you?"

Mimiru smirked. "It doesn't happen."

"Sometimes, the impossible is possible."

"Fine, I'll humor you." The manifestation crossed her arms over her chest. "If some miracle happens and you somehow defeat me-which _is _impossible as you are, by the way-my essence will be scattered throughout your blood cells. You'll be a living time bomb that can implode at any moment, and you'll be re-challenged until either you die off by yourself or I destroy you. My physical form will cease to be... sane... after these five hours have passed. I'd be surprised if you stood a chance against a berserker agent of fate. Either way, don't hold your breath."

I shrugged. "Guess I should go say my final goodbyes."

Mimiru just shook her head again, a smile playing on her lips. "... You're the strangest anomaly to the system I've ever met, Elizalilac Alexis. No one just stands down and accepts their fate."

"Does that mean I get the mercy treatment?"

"Not a chance." She waved a hand and I felt myself being dragged back up. "No one gets the mercy treatment. I hope you know how to use that spearblade, after all you've done with it so far."

And everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, the cage's bars had been lifted and both Chibi and Kurow were standing over me.

"C'mon, dude, it's not the time to be taking a nap." Kurow rolled his eyes.

"You try sitting in a cage for gods-know-how-long. I got bored." I lied, getting up with Chibi's support. "What have I missed?"

"We won a demon tournament and I think I've got a hunch as to where Orochi's Secret Stash is." The Moon Tribe boy grinned. "Come on. We're heading down to the lowest level."

After freeing all of the prisoners from the dungeon, we headed over to the elevator and Chibi amused himself by Power Slashing the Imp on guard until we were at the lowest level.

"I'm surprised he's not dead yet." I commented dryly, following Chibi and Kurow down a corridor.

_Imps. Gotta love 'em. _Chibi just gave a wolfish shrug as he padded down. We passed through what looked like a treasure hoard on its own and came to a stop at a pool of what looked like acid. Chibi guided Kurow across, pulled himself over, then dragged me with a vine.

"I think I know what suffocation feels like now," I wheezed as the vine relinquished its grip. Kurow rolled his eyes.

"Come on. I'm betting you we're going to find something we need in that giant statue of the snake himself."

And so we did.

"... And I thought crows like you liked shiny things," I commented, glancing around the stash of gold, gems, treasure chests, etc. Kurow facepalmed.

"This is Orochi's treasure hoard," Susano claimed from behind us. "Every treasure he's stolen is in here."

_HOW did he get over the acid pit._

"I'm wondering how Orochi manages to steal anything while stuck in this cave..."

Susano's attention was drawn to something behind us. "It can't be... no, it definitely is." He strode up to a suit of armor glistening like everything else in the room that wasn't a breathing organism. "This suit of armor belongs to my family. It was made long before Nagi himself wore it..."

Kurow flatlined. "... Nagi?"

"Yes, he's my ancestor." The warrior of Kamiki turned to him. "He sealed up Orochi in this cave a century ago."

"Oh, yeah, I think I saw something about that in the scro-"

Chibi smacked him with an ink-covered tail while I smacked him with my own hand.

"Owwwww..."

Thankfully, Susano didn't seem to notice. "I had heard that demons had taken this armor a long time ago. I never thought I would find it here."

"That's lucky for you, dude!" Kurow piped up. "You can wear it when you fight Orochi!"

"... No, I don't need it."

"... Uhh, you sure about that?" Kurow flatlined again.

"I'm not going to fight as an heir to the legend of Nagi," Susano declared. "I'm fighting as a man who wants to save the woman he loves. Love is my weapon of choice!"

"At least some people in this world can know that feeling," I muttered. Chibi tilted his head at me.

_Li... don't you know what love feels like?_

I grinned ruefully as Kurow muttered "Love... yeah, sure."

"I might have. Once. But I think it's something like kindness."

"_That _is the ultimate armor. ... Besides, only Nagi can draw out the armor's true power. If I wore it, I'd just be a walking antique shop."

Chibi and I snickered. Kurow just rolled his eyes. "Riiiight... Well, we'll keep an eye on it for you 'till you get back."

"Thanks. Don't let anything happen to it." Susano turned back toward the door and left.

"... Grab the armor," Kurow muttered as soon as the hero of this plot arc back in the first volume was out of earshot.

And so Nagi's armor went into Chibi's hammerspace inventory. Which we're not going to question.

Ever.

Moving on.

"I don't see any sake in here," I muttered. Kurow held up a Golden Imp Mask.

"I think someone was asking about this thing, though..."

"Can't there be _less _steps to get into Orochi's room? Wouldn't it make more sense if his Secret Stash was in his treasure hoard to BEGIN WITH?!"

_Li, it never makes sense, _Chibi pointed out.

"AAAAGH."

Ten minutes later, we came up to an Imp who instantly noticed the mask in our hands.

"Isn't that... ye went and found the Golden Imp Mask! Ye went and found it for me sake?!"

"I don't even know who you are." I fought to keep a straight face behind my mask.

"You bet, dude. It's all yours." Kurow handed it over.

"I'm in your debt!" The Imp cackled maniacally. "And as promised, here's Orochi's Secret Stash!"

A few minutes later, when we were back on the floor with the Imp who had requested the sake: "... YOU PEOPLE LIED TO ME."

"When?!"

"You two said we'd find Orochi's Secret Stash on that floor, but we just found a mask that we needed to trade off for it!"

"Close enough, right?"

"Kurow, I... I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

Chibi just sighed irritably and dropped Orochi's Secret Stash at the guard's feet. _Take your sake, get drunk, and let us get on our merry way before my partners kill each other._

"By the scales of Orochi! You got yourself a bottle of Orochi's Secret Stash! And... you're just gonna give it to me?!"

"Sure thing. You work hard, standing here all day long." Kurow nodded sarcastically. "You deserve it, so drink up."

"I never thought a demon so ugly could be so nice!"

"I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with an Imp, but here we are."

Kurow glowered at me while the Imp basically put himself to sleep in front of us. "And that's why you shouldn't drink on the job. C'mon, guys, we don't have much time."

**0-0-0**

One impossibly long climb up later, we came up on the ledge overlooking Orochi's throne room.

"Look! It's Amaterasu and Orochi!" Kurow pointed out in hushed tones. "And... Li, is that... you?"

I stared down at my fourteen-year old self, something clenching in my chest. Who I used to be-selfish, childish, filled with contempt. Even though I still was...

"Yeah." I finally muttered. "Yeah, that's me."

Chibi whimpered softly. _Momma..._

"Chibi, she wouldn't know you." I rested a hand on his fur, and he just continued whimpering.

_I know, but...!  
_

And then there was Susano, cowering on the ledge.

"I can't... I can't do this..." He mumbled, staring blankly downward.

"What's the problem? Don't you gotta _protect the woman you love?_" Kurow pointed out.

"I di-I do, but... this is no place for me. I'd just be getting in their way." Susano stammered.

"Dude, you're so wrong. You've got the power to change history! You're gonna slay the beast and get the girl in the end-don't wuss out now!"

I smacked my forehead. "_Really_, Kurow?"

"Shut up, I'm trying."

Susano turned back toward the scene unfolding below, still trembling. "... You really think so? You honestly believe that?"

"Duuuuuude!" The Moon Tribe boy groaned impatiently. "You've got the _power of love _on your side!"

And with that, he shoved the hero of the day forward, and that was that.

"Damn, I wish I had popcorn," I muttered as we hid back in the background.

_What?_

"Nothing."

"Have no fear! Susano is here!"

"I know you wanna help, but it's best not to get involved." Kurow muttered to Chibi as the younger sun god stared wistfully at his mother. "Don't forget that our mission is to stop Akuro. We also gotta stay out of sight so we can take him by surprise."

_... Yeah..._

As Susano went off on his spiel to Orochi, Kurow grinned. "Dude, you're a natural at this! ... Hey, where'd that moon come from?"

"The moon, the moon, the moon came out," I muttered sarcastically, unable to keep back a grin. Kurow and Chibi both stared while I shook my head. "Never mind. I'll tell you later."

Chibi barked to bring our attention back to the fight while Susano began to slice off Orochi's heads. _Guys, I'm going to try Power Slashing with him._

"Are you sure you need to? Your mom's doing the same thing down there."

_I want to help. _He glared at me with steeled eyes and readied his tail.

Two lines of ink intersected on their paths every time Orochi took a slice to the throat from Susano's own blade, and finally the Fire Head had been cleaved in two. Everything was just as it had been the time before.

And then, as the party left, it was showtime.

"That history scroll was right on the money," Kurow remarked as we stepped up to the end of the ledge. "But now for the part they won't be teaching in schools."

And, predictably, Akuro's ugly face-or lack thereof-came from out of nowhere and descended toward Orochi's corpse.

"There he is." Kurow's gaze hardened. "Don't let that thing get close to Orochi's corpse!"

Chibi and I leapt down to the ground (somehow with no twisted ankles this time) while Kurow headed straight for Akuro. He swiped with his flute and missed, but we'd definitely stalled him.

"Don't even _try _it, dude," The Moon Tribe boy snapped coldly, brandishing his flute.

"No! Who dares?!" Akuro rumbled as Chibi and I darted to back our partner up.

"I do! I'm Kurow of the Moon Tribe."

"Interesting... I will remember this." Akuro's voice was dull, as if he really quite frankly didn't give a shit.

Something flashed in Kurow's pocket and he drew out his pendant, which had lit up with an intense luminosity. "Dude, my pendant's glowing again... it's even brighter than last time."

Akuro drew himself back into a portal. "If I cannot procure what I need here, I will do it in another time."

"Kurow? Forget the shiny thing for now. We're two seconds away from stranded in this timeline." I snapped, shaking him by the arm. He nodded and pocketed his pendant.

"He's doing his time traveling thing again! After him!"

And we darted forward, leaping through the portal just as it shut behind us.

It was the last time the clock would turn backwards.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_This is it, guys. The home stretch begins here. From here on out, expect updates to be much more frequent, as we're just getting to the good part. _

_I hope you're all ready to hang on for the ride._

Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **Sparkle Filled Plot Holes.**

_Oh, yes. You all know what _that _means, I bet. I can just hear the fangirls... ... mobbing outside my house... with pitchforks and torches..._

_... clusterfudgenuggets._

**Kurow: Well, while she's occupied... please review!**


	25. Sparkle-Filled Plot Holes

_All right, everyone, welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun! This chapter's got a significant drop in quality-and wordcount-but what're you gonna do, we're at that point where we're finally getting to the good parts. I'll give you all a hint: as soon as True Orochi's Fire Head is cut in half, we're going to get to the best-and wordiest-part of the story. If we're on schedule, the third volume of this series will be over by the end of April, leaving summer break as the time for Eye of the Storm and Back to Reality to be completed over the second half of the year._

This plan is totally foolproof.

_But you don't care about all of that-you care about your sparkle filled plot holes. Back by popular demand (and pitchforks and torches outside my house), iiiiiiiit's Waka!_

_And before we forget-thanks to __**Daughter of Kabegami, OkamiAmaterasu2015, TheManWithBacon, ShunpoGekigami, **__and __**Spirits and Shadows **__for reviewing! HAVE SOME OROCHI SCOUT COOKIES 8D_

**Lilac: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters. She only owns her OCs and the ridiculous subplots she keeps coming up with. Extra disclaimer: Google Translate was used in the making of this chapter.**

Issun: I HEARD THE PROPHET'S BACK AND I'M SELLING HELMETS.

**Senom: ... I'll buy thirty.**

**0-0-0-0-0**

Akuro's portal wasn't very forgiving with where it dropped us-a good five feet in the air above the slope of a hill.

And guess who twisted her ankle again.

"Why does it keep happening..."

Kurow glanced around through a thin fog that veiled the general area. "Where... and when, are we?"

_It looks familiar. _Chibi tilted his head, staring around. _Have we... been here before?  
_

Kurow shrugged and caught sight of an old man mumbling to himself. "Yo, dude!"

"Of all the fraggin'... _now_, of all times..." The senior citizen was busy griping before taking notice of the three of us. "Hmm? Haven't seen your faces around these parts before."

"Yeah, we're new here. What's this place called?"

I resisted the urge to smack my forehead. "Kurow, you're doing it wrong."

"You really are new to these parts, ain't ya? This is the town that lives under the cursed Orochi-Kamiki Village."

Chibi gasped quietly. _No wonder it looked familiar... But if it's still under Orochi's curse, then WHEN are we?_

"Hold on a second, dude. I thought Amaterasu and Susano took care of that problem." Our partner blinked dumbfoundedly. The old man just sighed nervously.

"Again this year another victim for the sacrifice has been chosen. If only Nagi would actually _do _something about that Orochi...!"

"Hold up, did you say Nagi? Duuuuude... we must be a hundred years in the past!"

"Great. More time travel," I muttered, as if it hadn't been obvious before.

"And to top it all off, that dang dog Shiranui has been running around again... you kind of look like Shiranui, now that I take a good look at you." The old man remarked, turning to Chibi. Something seemed to click in his brain and he leapt back. "Y-you're not one of his _kids_, are you?"

"Wouldn't the appropriate term be _pups_?"

Kurow cut in quickly. "Dude, that's ridiculous."

"... you're right. And now here I've gotten myself into a pickle with this thing..." The old man sighed. "I got this sapling here to give hope to the people, but it won't take root. This entire town and the ground it sits on are cursed."

And he shuffled away.

_... He reminds me of Mr. Orange. _Chibi commented blankly.

"Probably an ancestor, seeing as how our Kamiki is technically history being relived," I pointed out. Kurow took out Issun's history scroll.

"According to the scroll, people in this time thought that Shiranui was just another one of Orochi's goons."

_That's not true! He's part of the Okami family! _Chibi burst out. Kurow blinked.

"It says here he was _the first _Okami."

_No, he wasn't. Momma told me that the Okami family has dated back to the dawn of this earth. _Chibi puffed up his wolf chest proudly. Kurow shrugged and pocketed the scroll.

"Whatever. We should go hide out at the Moon Cave before the festival begins."

"Do you guys really think Akuro's going to fall for the same trick twice?" I asked doubtfully as we headed down the path that wound down Kamiki Village. "I doubt he's that stupid."

"Do _you _have any better ideas?"

I just sighed, then glanced up at the stairs leading up to what would be Sakuya's tree.

"That's not right." I finally muttered.

"Huh?"

"There's the Spirit Gate right behind Konohana. Amaterasu and her two Celestial Envoys-err, one Celestial Envoy, I guess I was just a tagalong-came through that gate around this time. But there was a younger Sakuya by the sapling."

_You think she just needs a little help blooming?_

"C'mon, let's go bring Miss Sakuya to life." I nodded, and up the stairs we went. Chibi painted Bloom around Konohana's sprout, and 'Shakuya' came into existence. She yawned like a toddler waking up from a nap.

"I'm finally free... and you must be the ones who released me!" Her childish slur seemed oddly absent.

And then Mr. Fruit (because we can't just call him 'the old man' anymore) shuffled up. "The seedling has sprouted! My prayers have been answered! Our village will be free of its curse!"

"Oh, I get it. He can't see the spirit in the tree," Kurow muttered. Shakuya tilted her head at us.

"Hello! Where are you three from? I've never seen such an odd person atop such a cute god."

Chibi actually looked as if he would be blushing if he could while Kurow snorted. "Odd? Guess a kid like her can't tell how cool I really am. C'mon, you guys, let's go."

And we took our leave of spirit of Konohana. I let out a breath of relief.

"That should fix a little bit of history." I nodded. "I can't see anything else that looks out of place here in the timeline..."

"Then let's get going to the Moon Cave, already." Kurow rolled his eyes impatiently.

And so we headed all the way out to Shinshu Field.. to meet Nazo.

How did I remember his name? I had no clue.

"Hey, dude, what are you doing all the way out here?" Kurow raised an eyebrow. Nazo jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Ah! I'm... I'm not too scared to move! I'm just... taking a break... yeah... ... My pet dog is sick and I need an herb from the cave in Shinshu Field. But there are monsters everywhere!"

"Okay, okay, no need to shout." Kurow sighed. "... What do you guys wanna do? Look for this herb of his?"

"We might as well. I think we have time to spare." I thought a moment. "Chibi... remember where Yakushi is in the future? Let's try there."

_Sounds like a plan._

After ten minutes of surprisingly no event as far as demons went, we came back with a fresh sprig of... something in tow. Nazo's face lit up.

"That's the herb I was looking for! Can I really have it? Oh, thank you!" He paused. "By the way... I saw someone heading to the Moon Cave earlier. I hope he's all right..."

Something in my brain clicked. Nagi was back in Kamiki, but the alliance of Shiranui had definitely been aiming to strike tonight. So who was it that had been moving toward the Moon Cave? My grandfather, or Waka?

"Well, I gotta go take this medicine to my dog!" Nazo paused. "... Yeah, about before? I was too scared to move. Anyway, thanks! Oh, and you can have this. I thought I'd spending more time out here-I don't need it now, but maybe you can use it!"

And he handed us... a slab of meat?

_... Uhhh... that's an odd way of thanking someone. _Chibi blinked. _Guess we can save it for later. Y'know, as a victory snack after we defeat Akuro._

I shrugged. "Unless you want to eat it now."

_Nah, I've got my Holy Bone stash._

"... Wait, you found that?!"

As we continued our trek through Shinshu Field, something caught my eye-no, someone. A shock of white hair, and-

Suddenly, I found myself giggling weakly. Kurow and Chibi both turned to stare at me as I shook my head.

"... Uhh... guys..." I racked my brains for some sort of excuse. _Any _excuse. "... well, when a girl's gotta go..."

Kurow resisted the urge to smack his forehead. "We passed some bushes a while back. Hurry up, okay?"

Chibi nodded as I whirled around and darted back across the field. Strains of a new conversation began-one that, thankfully, I wasn't a part of.

It was too late to think about it now.

_... Mimiru._

_What._

How many hours do we have left?

Four and a quarter.

_... I want to challenge you._

There was a brief moment where everything seemed to stop and go cold. The air seemed to freeze, and yet the wind ceased its passage. The only sound on the open plain was that of singing cicadas.

There was a moment before the manifestation laughed softly. _Are you so desperate for a diversion? Or just a fool?  
_

_Both._

The freezing sensation lifted slightly as I fell back into my own mind. Mimiru stood before me, looking almost expectant.

"I'm not one to turn down a challenge," She commented lightly, snapping her fingers. An axe materialized into her waiting hands, shining with an eerie blue light reflected in the steel. "You won't have time to regret this."

I gave her a hardened stare and slid Dreamcatcher out of its loop, expanding the spearblade. "Maybe I will."

"Mortals. False hope is one of the things you all have in common." The manifestation sighed and shook her head. "Another is how easily broken you really are. I don't _need _this axe to eliminate you-there's a much more enjoyable way to do it."

And she let the axe clatter to the floor. Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled once. A smirk danced across the executioner's face.

"_When the clock strikes three, under the axe you shall be,_" Mimiru giggled like a small child before disappearing.

**[Play Umineko no Naku Koro Ni BGM - The Executioner]**

My grip on Dreamcatcher tightened as I forced myself not to look around for her. She'd turn up again, somewhere, but I still had the slight advantage of an open battlefield with no obstruction to vision. She hadn't pulled a trick with mist yet, so I would be able to see her wherever she turned back up...

... as long as it wasn't behind me.

I stood, eyes half-closed and listening intently. Her childlike laughter echoed throughout the arena all around me-there was no way to directly pinpoint the source.

_So there's going to be another way. There's always an opening._

Just as I was getting ready to turn around, I heard it-the sound of footsteps against the tile from my left. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her silhouette growing closer, until she vanished again.

"Shit," I muttered, finally dropping my concentration and glancing around. This time, three shadows began stepping toward me and dissipating. From them came five, and from those fifteen. "No clear target..."

The shadows finally broke whatever barrier held them back the first few times and sept into the floor to form one. It slipped under mine, and an earsplitting scream echoed through the expanse of my mind.

It was my own scream, but no sound ever left my lips.

I stepped back as my shadow on the floor was absorbed by the mass, writhing against Mimiru's power and fighting to escape it. After a moment, it rose back up and my own face grinned demonically at me.

"_You're your own worst enemy._"

"_Good_!" I lunged forward, slicing into my 'double''s arm. "Because luckily for me, I've got enough problems with myself to _enjoy _this!"

Black blood sprayed across my face, but Mimiru didn't move. She just continued grinning as her wound repaired itself.

"You enjoy hurting yourself? That makes it easier on me."

Suddenly, I felt my own arm rip itself open, and my own blood spilled onto the tile in a flood. I shrieked, collapsing to my knees.

"Any wound that you try to deal to me, I can repair. But it'll also be dealt right back... and you can't regenerate as quickly." My double stood over me, looking completely hollow except for the grin splitting her face. "If you had gone for a fatal blow, you would have killed yourself in the act. I'm glad you didn't-I had another card up my sleeve to play before we run out of time."

I gritted my teeth, trying to cover the wound with my free hand as the other lay limply at my side. The liquid spilling from my arm wasn't completely black, but somewhat peppered. It ran freely, sliding through the gaps between my fingers and sticking to my skin.

Mimiru vanished again, dissipating into the tile. When she reappeared, it was in the form of the first partner Chibi and I had been stuck with-the one we'd been searching most of this joyride for.

I was staring down a copy of Kuni.

"Don't you think I would've come looking for you guys if I didn't know what you are, Li? Can't believe I was helping a defect."

"Kuni!" I reached out for him blindly, instinctively, but my hands cut through wisps of black smoke as Mimiru stepped out of my reach and cackled. She disappeared and reformed again. This time, Nanami just shook her head, looking disappointed.

"I should have never taken your hand, Elza..."

"But you _did_!" I stumbled, my breath catching in my throat as the black and red blood seeping out of my arm began to boil. Nanami's form flickered and reformed as Kagu.

"You're a pretty good actor." The Miko-in-training aimed an Exorcism square at my chest. "I wish we'd all seen through it sooner."

The slip's energy hit my in waves, knocking me back so I was splayed on the tile-in the pool of blood. Kurow stood over me, his flute pointed straight at my heart. His eyes were cold as...

_Frostbite._

"Dude," he stated, "news flash? We're _nothing _alike."

My vision blurred as Mimiru reverted to her original form and raised her axe to strike.

"I'm done playing games with you." Her voice was sickeningly sweet. "Don't hold your breath-you won't have time to scream."

She swung the axe in an arc above her head and aimed a swing for my throat-

-and a streak of green light sped in from behind me, slicing into the agent of fate's side. She let out a howl and dropped her axe, stumbling backward as a hand rested on my shoulder.

"Am I late, _ma fleur_?"

**[End song.]**

I'd never been so happy to hear a French accent in my life.

"I'm not going to flatter you, Waka. You already know you're right on time."

The Moon Tribesman just chuckled lightly and helped me up, examining my arm. "Injuries sustained here disappear when you enter the reality plane. You'll be the same as how you left when you reenter your full form."

"Good to know." The blood flow had slowed down to a trickle, and the wound was already trying to repair itself here. _Must be the black blood-I just don't have enough of it. _"Sorry for bleeding on you."

Waka rolled his eyes and retrieved his flutesaber, withdrawing the light inside so it resumed its usual disguise. "I think it's time we left, songbird."

Mimiru was still writhing even though her flesh regenerated much faster than mine. She glared up at us, gasping for breath.

"How did you get in here?" She hissed. "This isn't your place to interfere!"

The prophet shrugged. "You left a door open."

The manifestation let out another shriek as Waka placed his hand on my shoulder. Within seconds, we were standing back on Shinshu Field in the middle of the night.

"Thanks." I breathed out. The blood had all vanished, just as I was when I'd descended. "If you hadn't been there-"

"You shouldn't have challenged her." Waka interrupted. "You were lucky this time, but you don't have the power to fight the gears of fate on your own. Going up against one is sealing your death warrant, and you practically did."

As the cicadas rang their cacophony, he continued. "When someone fights a gear of fate without knowing what they're up against... _C'est la bravoure et la folie_."

"... I only ever took Spanish, not French."

"It is bravery and foolishness," the prophet translated patiently. "Often the two walk along the same line. One can hold hands with both, but also lean toward one side. You, _ma fleur,_ are leaning dangerously on the side of foolishness."

He gestured off in the distance, toward the Moon Cave. "You have a duty to carry out that's been given to you-the duty of protecting _Chiisaki Taiyo_, the Dawn of the Little Sun. Your fates have been intertwined. If one were to break, so would the other. If you had died due to that mistake, Chibiterasu eventually would have failed in his quest to save Nippon."

I stared at the grass as Waka paused mid-lecture. "... I didn't know what I was thinking." I admitted softly. "I thought-I thought I could take care of this."

There was another pause.

"It's unfortunate that I don't have a prophecy for you."

"_Good._"

"But that doesn't mean I won't tell you not to fool yourself. Never once since you entered the 'old world' have you walked alone." Waka stepped back. "Unfortunately, trouble is calling my name. I'm afraid the rest of our conversation will have to-"

"Wait." I snapped. "Are you... from this time, or from ours? A hundred years in the future from this moment, or from this moment itself?"

A smirk played across the prophet's lips. "Time isn't a boundary to all of us, _ma fleur._ Now you see me, now you don't-_au revoir!_"

And he vanished in a flash of sparkles, leaving me alone in the middle of Shinshu Field and utterly lost.

"... now what?"

There was a pause.

"... Ammy dammit, I forgot about the Moon Cave, didn't I."

**0-0-0-0-0**

_And that's a wrap for this chapter! Not one of the longer ones, but hey, it's better than ALBN volume I._

Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: _**Unexpected Meetings**__!_

**Waka: Review!**

Issun: ... what's he doing back onset. SENOM, WE HAD A _**DEAL**_**.**

Senom: Last time I checked, we never _**had **_**any deal. I told you he'd be out of your way for **_**most **_**of this volume, not all of it. You're still near the set.**

Issun: ...

**Lilac: **_**Told.**_


	26. Expect the Unexpected

_... okay, so that chapter took a LOT longer than I expected._

_Whoops._

_Welcome to the finale arc of Closer to the Rising Sun! From this point on, the author will be spouting nonsensical crappy headcanons left and right, as well as actually have wordy chapters!_

... where's my applause.

_Lilac: Where the reviewers all went. Oh, wait..._

_Hate to burst your bubble, Li, but we actually DID get... y'know... four reviews. Thanks to __**ShunpoGekigami**__, __**OkamiAmaterasu2015**__, __**Daughter of Kabegami**__, and __**The Pokemon Otaku **__for reviewing. Since I love all of my reviewers so much, have some Orochi Scout cookies! Hal says they're fresh baked._

Hal: And by fresh baked, we mean fresh STOLEN.

_That too._

**Manpuku: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters and only owns her OCs. ... what am I doing here, again?**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

I think that now is the perfect time to remind myself, her, and everyone reading about my exact opinion of Senom.

And that is that she is a [CENSORED] [CENSORED] [CENSORED] [CENSORED].

Now that that's out of the way.

The entrance to the Moon Cave was deserted by the time I'd caught up as far as I possibly could. Orochi's barrier crackled menacingly back at me as I stared up at it, then turned back to glance around. Chibi and Kurow were long gone.

_They can't have gotten inside without me... right?_

I sighed under my breath and collapsed on the stairs, staring up at the clouded sky. _Great. I've failed as a Celestial Envoy again. Issun just might be better at his job than me after all._

Suddenly, the wind halted in its passage. The clouds froze in the sky, hanging as if dangling by some celestial thread. Time itself had seemed to stop.

And the base of my throat suddenly felt as if it was being covered in ice.

I jumped to my feet, hand on the stopwatch. No one was on the path from Shinshu Field, but-

"How's it going, Frostbite?"

Never mind the stopwatch, I needed my spearblade. _I swear, Emil, I'm going to slit your wings of-_

The moment I turned around, I was staring into blank golden eyes-not the misted jade I'd been expecting.

I don't know what I would have been expecting if I'd known who it really was. The same person I'd seen a hundred years in the future? Probably.

Leaning against his sword hilt, shock-white hair hanging just over his eyes and the blue and red markings painted over his face, armor glinting in the moonlight, was my grandfather.

I quickly slid my spearblade rod back in its loop, eyes wide. Oni looked... tired. He still had a gleam in his eyes-the gleam of mischief, of love for another-but it was dulled by pain. Probably the evening's events crashing down on him.

"Sayuri never said she had a younger clone running around." His expression turned slowly from amused to critical. "... you have a curse written all over you, Frostbite. And out in front of the Moon Cave to boot. What's your story?"

I faltered. I couldn't tell him I was his and Lily's granddaughter-he'd never believe me. I couldn't lie and say I was from around Shinshu Field-he knew I looked exactly like Sayuri.

"... Lost." I managed. _Tell him as little as possible. _"I was supposed to meet some friends out here, but..."

"Meet _friends._ In front of the _Moon Cave._" Oni gave me a dull look. "Let me guess, _demon_ friends?"

_Shit. _"No, it's-" I paused and looked him in the eyes, bringing out my spearblade. Suddenly, his expression went blank.

"... You're one of the Storm Tribe." He breathed out. "You're Sayuri's-"

And suddenly he chuckled. "Should've said so sooner, Frostbite. You're a part of the master plan, after all."

I blinked, putting Dreamcatcher away again while my grandfather stared out over Lake Harami. "Sayuri told the Alliance of the Sun to expect you. You need a way into the Moon Cave, just like us-meaning you need a trip to the Ice Room."

That was worrying. "What's the Ice Room?"

"Orochi's freezer. Your friends are waiting on you, no doubt." Oni extended a hand and grinned broadly. "Name's Oni. I'll be your passage tonight."

I hesitated before taking it. "Lilac. I guess I'm your passenger tonight."

"I swear I'll never understand what it is about you three." He bowed slightly, then pulled me into his arms. "You, Sayuri, Lily... ever since the Project began, it's like the Storm Tribe's..."

He trailed off as he took off over Lake Harami's waters. I stared down at my reflection in the water.

"... what's the Project?"

"You mean she never told you?" I could almost see him rolling the rings in his eyes where his irises and pupils were supposed to be. "Project A.L.B.N.'s been underway for the past few days now. It's, well-"

Oni suddenly sounded slightly sheepish. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, actually. Lot of things could go wrong. Sorry, Frostbite."

"I'm a part of the Project?" I pressed, glancing up. His expression had turned both distant and reluctant.

"... you and Lily are the keys. That's more than what I'm allowed to say."

My mind flashed back to my own heart. My DNA going into a silhouette of Sayuri. Mimiru's words about Emil and Sayuri's 'plan'.

And now my own grandfather was admitting to being a part of all of this. Possibly Waka and Ammy, too.

"... There's the Ice Room." We were coming to a large glacier at one end of the lake. "Biggest demon freezer you'll find in Nippon. Your partners should be waiting on you inside somewhere."

"Thanks." I managed to tell him softly, voice cracking.

"Look, Frostbite," My grandfather drew to a halt and set me down on the ice. "This is as far as I go. I don't know what business you've got in the Ice Room or how good of a friend it is that would go in here and leave a girl on her own, but make it quick and get out of here. This place is crawling with demons, a-"

"I know." I took a step forward, staring into the dark opening in the ice. "We've taken care of our fair share of demons."

Oni chuckled slightly. "You're a crazy kid. Good luck in here-I have a date with destiny, and destiny's not a big fan of late arrivals."

I grinned back at him. "Don't keep destiny waiting, then." I slid Dreamcatcher out and nodded as he turned around and disappeared into the twisting labyrinth of ice.

And it was back to going it solo.

Now that I could really feel the air, the Ice Room lived up to its name. The air carried a stinging chill that rivaled my nickname, and ice crystals began creeping up the soles of my boots the longer I stood still. Biting my lip, I headed forward into the next room.

"... If that amber can break the barrier on the Moon Cave, we have to get our hands on it."

I froze in the passageway, laying a hand against the ice wall and instantly withdrawing it. Kurow's voice wasn't that deep, and this was physical, not telepathic. Meaning...

_Either Chibi's not in here at all, or he's got another partner._

_So where the hell is Kurow?  
_

I stepped out into the room, squinting in the reflective light. "Chibi?"

Sure enough, the younger god of the sun whirled around and his tail started going sixty miles an hour. _Hey, Li!_

"Where's Kurow?" I asked instantly, kneeling down as the wolf pup darted forward to greet me. He blinked, then looked away.

_He said he had... something to take care of._

My forehead creased. "That's not like him... Why now, when we're this close...?"

Chibi just shook his head, whimpering softly while a roughly ten years old and overweight boy came up to us.

"Friend of yours, Pork Chop?"

I raised an eyebrow at Chibi as a storm cloud legitimately began raining on him. _... Shut up._

I brushed my skirt off and got to my feet, nodding. "Yeah, Chibi's usually with me. I'm Lilac, you?"

And somehow I'd failed to notice and mention that _this guy's hair was legitimately fire. _Not just on fire, but _made of _fire.

This was going to be good.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't know Pork Chop had an owner." Chibi cringed again at the nickname. "I'm Manpuku. Did you come looking to take him back?"

"More like just came looking to figure out where he went." I paused an extended a hand to Manpuku. "And anyway, I'm not technically his owner."

Firehead shook it, grinning broadly. "Oh, good... I was hoping he wouldn't have to leave too soon."

_I'm helping him out. _Chibi pointed out. _You saw that barrier in front of the Moon Cave, right? There's some amber in here that the demons were talking about-it'll bring down the barrier so we can get in. Manpuku's in here 'cause the demons kidnapped his mom._

I winced. "Ouch. Sorry to hear that."

"Hey, that's why we're here to save her!" Manpuku still seemed cheerful about the whole affair. "And... how's that saying go... cheerful company shortens the miles?"

_I don't think our company's ever cheerful._

I shrugged. "We get as close as we can. So we find the amber, get out, save your mom from the demons, and move on to keep the bad guy off Orochi's blood. Sounds like an easy enough to-do list."

"Orochi's bl-wha?" Manpuku glanced at Chibi. "You never told me about anything like that!"

_It... never came up? _Chibi sweatdropped. I cut in.

"Hold it. Manpuku, tell me now. Is Chibi _all _white fur or does he have markings to you?"

"Well, uh..." Our new partner blinked. "Yeah, he has stripes on his face. Why?"

"Then you can hear him."

"Yeah...?"

I glanced at Chibi, who gave a wolf-shrug. _He's a believer, Li. I don't know how it works, but he is._

"... Well, that's a good thing." I sighed and turned back to Manpuku. "C'mon, we're all going to freeze here if we just stand around. I'll tell you on the way."

And thus the dungeon was turned into a very effective montage.

Bite me, says the author.

More like bomb, says the narrator.

And that was that.

Meanwhile:

"Why is this room filled with cannons and how do we get through here."

_You'll see._

To make this short and sweet, pretend you can see an overview of the cannon room. Enjoy that image with the background dialogue.

"So you know about Orochi in the Moon Cave, right?"

"Well, yeah. Doesn't everyone?"

"True. Anyway, since he's such a big demon as opposed to Imps and the like, it'd probably come as no surprise that there's another, bigger demon who just so happens to be one that we're in the process of trying to stop."

"A bigger demon than Orochi?"

"... Size-wise? No. Power-wise? Oooooh, yes."

_He's already powerful enough, but he thinks he needs the blood of Orochi to become invincible._

"Well, he does need it to become all-powerful, he just thinks he needs to _be _all-powerful. So we can't let him get near Orochi's blood... which entails getting into the Moon Cave and stopping Akuro, said bigger demon, from getting near Orochi's corpse tonight."

Several cannons later, we came into a river that just so happened to be sending rocks down the way we supposedly needed to go. Switch your image and keep the nonexistant dialogue clip rolling, folks.

"Wait, so how do you know Orochi's going to be a corpse tonight? ... You guys aren't going to try and slay Orochi, are you? No offense, but-"

"Us? Pfffft, _no._"

_We wish... _

"No, we're not killing Orochi, but we know the guy who's going to. Ever hear of Nagi?"

"No."

"... Actually, that's probably for the better. You never want to meet the guy."

_Is he like Susano?_

"Too much like Susano."

And so we came upon the next room and "Holy CRAP is that a dinosaur."

Chibi gaped at the giant dinosaur enshrined in ice at the center of the room. Honestly, it was a bit hard to miss. _... Wow._

Manpuku whistled. "Wow, a dinosaur frozen in ice! ... you don't think it's still alive, do you?"

"I _hope _not." I pointed out, skirting around it. "C'mon, there's another door out of here. I don't see any treasure worth taking, so..."

Chibi sighed and ran to catch up, Manpuku now taking up residence on his back. _I hate to say this, but... I found someone who's harder to carry than Nanami._

"Yeah, well, Manpuku's not a mermaid."

Enter the next chamber: brought to you by magnets!

Because _gods make magnets work!_

Ahem.

"... What is this, the Underground Ruins all over again?" I grumbled as we got onto the first platform and Chibi's tail twitched. Several platforms later, we jumped back off at the other side.

_The Underground Ruins were a lot less... cold... _Chibi pointed out, shivering slightly. And so we headed into the _next room._

Which held a treasure chest.

"Hey, you think that's the amber?" Manpuku piped up. I grinned.

"Only one way to find out, right?"

Five seconds later, an innocent pearl was hurled at the wall and dropped down the chasm.

Yes, an innocent pearl was harmed in the making of this chapter.

Take your lawsuits elsewhere, the author's broke.

"Dang, looks like that wasn't the amber we needed... Guess there's nothing else here we can use." Our partner sighed. "We'll have to try our luck somewhere else."

"... as in, we have to go _all the way back _across the magnets."

"Well, yeah, that's the only way to g-"

"AAGH."

**We at Senom299 Wants Your Wallet Productions are experiencing technical difficulties. Please hold!**

"... Li, did you take your Prozac this morning?"

"No, because I didn't know this was going to be an ICE chapter and god I hate ICE chapters and SENOM WHAT ARE YOU DOING."

"Administering happy medicine."

"GET THAT SYRINGE AWAY FROM ME. You don't even know how to USE i-"

**Thank you for your patie-**

Suddenly, Li could be heard screaming.

**... Please continue to be patient for a few more moments!  
**

"Can somebody _please _get me some backup over here? I'm just the _author_!"

"Nope."

"No."

_What's going on?_

"Uhhh... no?"

"YOU'RE ALL GETTING YOUR PAY DOCKED."

**Thank you for your patience! Your regularly scheduled idiocy will now continue.**

Ten minutes later found us all coming back into the room with the dinosicle.

"Never. Again."

_It wasn't that bad,_ Chibi muttered. _Kinda fun without you screaming._

"You call magnet physics _fun_?"

And then the dinosaur broke out of its ice prison.

"... I _hate _this dungeon."

Meanwhile, Manpuku was having a heart attack. "What _is _that? And why is it here?!"

_For decoration. _Chibi piped up. _... or at least, it was._

"... Guess we're not getting out of here without fighting it." Manpuku glanced around and spotted a cannon at the far end of the room. "Hey, that'll work!"

**Initiating Combat Mode: Boss Fight: Yoshi/Mizuchi/Happy the Dragon?**

_Li, keep it busy for a few seconds! _Chibi dashed off to the cannon with Manpuku on his back. I groaned and turned back around.

"Busy. Right. ... Sooooo, how's the weather in there?"

Mizuchi proceeded to roar in my face.

"... not too good, huh?"

Suddenly, an icicle fell on it. Chibi flicked his tail back and forth while Manpuku was rushing toward the dinosaur like... well, a cannonball.

"Clear the path!"

I leapt to the side as he made impact and Chibi dashed up to recover our partner. Mizuchi roared and lashed out.

"So that's our plan?"

_Do you have a better one?_

"Nope. Wash, rinse, repeat?"

_You know it._

After a few more successful cannon-shots with this tactic, the dinosaur let out one last roar and collapsed onto the floor.

... or at least its head did, anyway.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

And a chunk of amber the size of a loaf of bread rolled out of its mouth and toward us.

"... I'm not touching that."

"Neither am I."

_I'm not touching it either!_

Manpuku sighed and gingerly picked up the Amber. "Well, hey, we did it! Now we can break the Moon Cave barrier! C'mon, we gotta go!"

The Ice Room begged to differ. The chamber around us began to tremble, and icicles fell from the ceiling. A larger shard of ice fell and smashed against the floor, and... didn't shatter.

It also contained a very familiar figure. Chibi gasped and leapt forward toward the ice. I covered my mouth.

"Shiranui..."

It was the Okami before Amaterasu-or Ammy's former form, or whatever Shiranui was. After Chibi's explanation, I honestly didn't know myself. Chibi himself let out a strangled sort of cry.

_That's my..._

"What? This is your what?" Manpuku asked obliviously. "Your ancestor? Then hurry up and get him outta there!"

"Wait, Shiranui's a him?" I asked blankly. Chibi just flicked his tail, painting a line of flames from Manpuku's hair to the ice. It melted on contact, and Shiranui collapsed to the floor.

... and so did a certain autumn-hued Poncle.

"-the _heck,_ how careless can you guys get?! Don't tell me you're actua-huh?" The former-or current?-Celestial Envoy started bouncing around Shiranui. "Hey, get u-huh? Who in the heck are you three?"

I resisted the urge to say _your future grandson's ex-girlfriend._ Unfortunately, that meant letting Manpuku introduce us.

"I'm Manpuku. This is Lilac and Pork Chop."

"_Chibiterasu._" I muttered. Chibi just looked embarassed.

"... Nice. You know, you look like you could stand to lose a few pounds." Manpuku's face went red as the Poncle continued. "Anyway, I'm Ishaku. And it's my lot in life to follow this chump around. His name's Shiranui, and he hunts demons. Because, y'know, he's a god."

By this point in time, Shiranui had come around and was staring directly at Chibi. The younger Okami gave a slight wolf-grin.

"Yeah, we're in the same boat there." I crossed my arms. "Fellow Celestial Envoy?"

Ishaku froze. "... you're an Envoy?"

I gestured to Chibi. "I'm following around a member of the Okami family, aren't I?"

"Wait, wait, stop the presses. Everyone stop talking." Shiranui's Envoy bounced over to stare up at Chibi. "Your pup looks just like the big guy here. How the heck is that possible?"

Shiranui attempted to push himself up, but fell back to his side. Ishaku winced as we rushed over.

"... We had more than a few rough scrapes with some demons. Well, okay, we got _ambushed. _Everyone in the Alliance of the Sun-that's me, the big guy, that fruity prophet, the big guy's 'bodyguard', and that one chick who looks sorta like your Envoy there-"

"Ishaku, do you even know any of their _names_?"

"Sure I do. Anyway, we all got attacked looking for the amber to open up the Moon Cave barrier and save the day. Prophet disappeared as soon as Shiranui gave the order to run, and Oni blasted out of here with Lily. We sort of..."

"Got frozen?" I raised an eyebrow.

"... yeah."

Chibi trotted up to Shiranui and morphed into his human form, ears and tail drooping as he gently stroked his ancestor's fur. "You don't even have the strength to change right now, do you?"

"He never preferred changing. Left 'im too vulnerable." Ishaku pointed out, bouncing over. "Listen, partner... I know you wanna go to the Moon Cave and take care of that Orochi. But we'll get our tails kicked if we go now! The Alliance is broken up-who knows where everyone went!"

Chibi glanced up. "Lily's in Shinshu Field. She warned us to stay away from the Moon Cave."

"Oni was the one who brought me here. He said he didn't want to come in any further than the entrance." I pointed out. Ishaku sighed.

"Sounds like them. And who knows where the prophet is? Here one second, gone the next."

Shiranui let out a long breath and got to his paws, then began to shift himself. A middle-aged man with white hair reaching down to his shoulders and celestial red marks adorning his skin, robes, and hair rested his hands on Chibi's shoulders.

"We don't have a choice." His voice was tired, ears and tail drooping not from sorrow, but from pain. "Orochi has to be..."

Chibi raised a trembling hand and took hold of his ancestor's wrist. "We know. We can take care of it."

Manpuku gawked while Ishaku whistled. "The big guy's never had a reason to shift. Your pup's pretty important to him."

"He's pretty important, period." I crossed my arms.

"-hey, wait, did he just say he'll go to the Moon Cave for us?!"

Tears began streaming down Chibi's face as he practically fell into Shiranui, arms wrapped around his neck.

"We can't let you suffer anymore." My charge sniffled. "We... we can't. We have to be at the Moon Cave anyway. Akuro-"

Shiranui stroked his descendant's hair gravely, then glanced at me. "... you are his Envoy. Are you truly prepared to go to the Moon Cave and face what we cannot?"

I nodded. "If our destiny lies in the Moon Cave, I'll follow _Chiisaki Taiyo _past the gates of death themselves."

"Yeah, we'll go." Manpuku piped up. "You two rest us and let us three go ahead!"

"... Aw, what the heck. Who are we to turn down the kindness of strangers?" I could almost see Ishaku throwing his tiny hands up.

Shiranui morphed back into his wolf form and rested on the ground. _Then I leave this task to you._

Chibi transformed himself, trotted up to him, and the two had a brief family love session. I stood back and glanced at Ishaku.

"... so how's the Envoy business turning out for you?"

"Oh, y'know. Facing impending doom is normal." His tone was dry. "You?"

"Death and destruction around every corner. I don't think Chibi'd have it any other way."

Chibi stepped back and nodded, tears still staining his fur before turning to Manpuku and I. _C'mon, guys. We need to save Manpuku's mom and find Kurow._

"Before he gets in any more trouble than usual. Got it." I nodded, and we all took off out of the Ice Room.

"... Hey, Pork Chop. Who were those guys?" Manpuku finally asked. Chibi smiled grimly and glanced back at me.

_My grandfather and one of the two Celestial Envoys that came before Li and... another friend._

There was a pause before I spoke up.

"I like Ishaku better than Issun."

_Yeah, I do too._

**0-0-0-0-0**

_... that chapter was way more impossible than it should have been._

You guys don't even KNOW.

_Yes, I changed up the scene and kind of... made a plot hole._

_INTRODUCING THE ALLIANCE OF THE SUN! They TOTALLY called themselves that back in Prelude!  
_

_Lilac: You're an idiot._

Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **The Blood of Orochi**.

**Ishaku: Review if you want a chapter within the next week, everyone!**

Lilac: Oh, they're gonna get a chapter within the next week, all right...

**Senom: ... is that a threat?**

Lilac: _**Yes.**_


	27. Pulling Together and Breaking Apart

_Warning: the chapter ahead is by no means my best work._

_Nothing we can do about it now, though. The show must go on._

_... so uh not much to say._

_Thanks as always to our lovely reviewers: __**ShunpoGekigami**__, __**Daughter of Kabegami**__, and __**The Pokemon Otaku**__!_

... Those reviews sure do look lonely, though. I bet they'd like some frienOWWW MY EARS.

**Kurow: *lowers flute* Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters, and only owns her OCs.**

**Senom: Owwwwwww...**

**0-0-0-0**

"... So what are we supposed to _do _with this amber to break the seal, again?"

Chibi, Manpuku and I stood (all right, Chibi and I stood-Manpuku took up residence on Chibi's back) in front of the Moon Cave barrier, amber bread loaf in tow. The barrier crackled and hissed at us like a temperamental fire.

"I'm not sure." Manpuku admitted. "Maybe we just hold it up like thi-"

As soon as he pulled the chunk of crystal out, the barrier began to flash violently before being dispersed by a blue light into small wisps of lavender clouds.

"-s..."

Chibi blinked. _I guess that's one way to do it._

"Come on. We've come too far to turn back now," I muttered, taking up the lead and beginning the ascent up Orochi's staircase. It was whole, for once-the usual pit and/or small bridge was replaced with stone stairs like all of the rest. The Moon Cave looked like it was in a lot better condition now than it had been in the present.

Future.

Whatever.

Suddenly, when we reached the top, Manpuku groaned weakly. "Unnghhh... I'm too weak... Manpuku needs food..."

"_Really_?! You weren't even DOING anything!"

He rolled off of Chibi, stars forming in his eyes. "I... I'm dizzy... I can't... go on like this..."

Chibi actually rolled his eyes as he turned around to leer at Manpuku. "Forget... about me... sorry... Mom..."

And then he passed out on the floor.

Chibi nudged him twice before giving me a 'why do I have to do everything around here?' look and dragging the boy onto his back.

_Come on, Li. He's helping us save his mom, whether he wants to or not._

"Yeah, figured."

We were able to take a few steps before Manpuku started shuddering, as if crying, and spoke up again.

"Maru... I'm so sorry, Maru..."

_Really? We already went OVER this! I'm not your pet!_

"I ate... so much... I couldn't afford to keep you..." He mumbled. I exchanged a glance with Chibi.

And that was when the floor gave way.

"Ammy dammit, I HATE FLOORS!"

_It wasn't the floor's fau-_

"EVERYTHING WAS THE FLOOR'S FAULT!"

Fifteen seconds later, we fell into what felt like a hot spring, smelled like _godawful_ and nothing else (except maybe Kuni after escaping Bullhead, which _was _godawful), and looked like demon soup.

"Ohhhhh god we're in one of Bullhead's ancestors or something aren't we."

_Or being cooked into one of Bullhead's ancestor's... I don't know... _Chibi gasped for breath, trying to keep his head aloft.

**This chapter was brought to you by: Orochi Scout Cookies!**

"WHAT?! Hang on a second, where the hell did that _come _from?!"

Senom facepalmed from offstage. "Just _go _with it."

**Now a part of your unbalanced and not-that-nutritious breakfast! Buy a box of Orochi Scout Cereal today from any and all participating Sales Imps!**

"But we're supposed to be saving Chari-"

"Then _get the set changed and go save her offscreen_ because this ad's only a minute long!"

.. _oooohhhh..._

**Warning: side effects may include vomiting, scorching of any part of the digestive system, food poisoning, headaches, dizziness, bloating, death, demonic possession, and others that we haven't quite found yet. Please see Dr. Bluebeard or Redbeard (depending on which side of Nippon you live on) if these side effects persist.**

"Or stop eating the cereal."

**Or stop eating the cereal. Act now and get a free Demon Lord-signed box! Better yet, we'll **_**throw in **_**a free reincarnated Demon Lord with your purchase! Even better! What a steal-I mean, deal!  
**

"... Why does this sound like subplot?"

"It's not. It's really not. Chibi, that's a _flower, _you're supposed to use a _vine _on it."

_Oh, right!_

**Demon Lord options include: goldfish in a bowl, fox cub, cattle skeleton, questionably-named spider, giant toad, mentally-impaired catfish, and more!  
**

"Oh, that's just _sad_."

This was accompanied by the sound of Holy Arrows being thrown. And possible Cherry Bombs exploding.

**Come to your nearest Imp vendor today to buy! Remember: not available at **_**normal **_**stores!**

And the advertisement suddenly closed out with Charity and Manpuku hugging onscreen. I collapsed back against the wall, cursing Senom under my breath. Chibi just wagged his tail and nudged my arm.

_Liiiii you gotta waaatch!_

_No._

But Liiiiii-

_I'm not watching! Lalala! I'm not _listening_, either!_

Chibi just pouted and I turned to glance at him.

"Chibi, I know how you feel about all of this, but we're losing moonlight. Are we already in the Moon Cave? Okay, yeah, point for our team. Did we already stop Akuro from getting Orochi's blood? No."

_... Yeah, you're right, but... _Chibi turned to watch Charity and Manpuku. _I thought you'd changed, Li._

That one hit the bull's eye. I stood up, dusting my skirt off.

"... I'm still trying. And I'm still trying to be the voice of reason around here, too. Just give me some more time, all right?"

_You don't have all the time in the world._

It wasn't Chibi that spoke. I gritted my teeth and ignored Mimiru's voice in the back of my head just in time for Manpuku to turn to us from walking out with his mother.

"You guys... you're still going to find Orochi, aren't you?"

_Well, yeah. It's what we came for._

"Then I'm going too. You aren't going by yourselves."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Manpuku, you've done what _you _came here to do. You need to go home. Have a happily ever after with your mother. Go on a diet. Whatever your plan is, it won't take you up against what we are."

Chibi nodded slowly, then began trying to push our partner out the door.

"No! I promised I'd stay by your side! I... I don't want to lose another dog! And a friend! I already lost Maru..."

"Give it up, dude. We've all got our own lot in life, and there's no use trying to fight it."

My breath caught in my throat as a trill so off-key it could send any band director into tears cut through the air. Chibi's tail began wagging.

Kurow descended from the ceiling, landing on a nearby platform and playing another godawful set of notes.

"Hey! Who _are _you?!" Manpuku demanded. I exchanged a glance with Chibi, each of us fighting off a grin.

"The name's Kurow. Don't wear it out, or I'll make you buy me a new one." Chibi's brother turned around. "It's time to change partners."

"Change pa-_no_! Pork Chop is my partner!"

"I swear I'm invisible again."

Kurow sighed and shook his head, floating down to meet us. "Look, dude. You needed to save your mom, right?"

"I... I guess..." Manpuku trailed off, suddenly looking uncertain.

"When you've got a job to do, you can't lose sight of that." The Moon Tribe boy pulled out his pendant and actually looked a bit wistful. "It's destiny, man. You almost... don't have a choice."

"... I really do want to go with you guys." Manpuku sighed, glancing back at Charity. "But... I can't leave my mom."

Chibi licked his face briefly and began pushing him again, only giving him one word. _Go._

"Okay, okay, Pork Chop! I'll go!" Our partner turned around and embraced Chibi, then glanced at me. "But... you guys have to promise me something. Call me if you ever get in a tight spot. ... I'll be by your side before you can say "all you can eat"."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and nodded. "See you around, Manpuku."

Manpuku let go of Chibi, hauled Charity onto his back, and began walking out of the Moon Cave. Kurow turned back to us.

"... Well, then. I kinda needed some time to work through stuff." He noted, almost as if apologizing.

_As if._

"You're not the only one. At least the dynamic trio or whatever we're calling ourselves these days is back together."

Kurow gave me a knowing look and nodded. "Right. So... are we going to go out there and stop Akuro? Or are we gonna let him get everything he wants?"

_It'd be a lot worse than a crime to let him get Orochi's blood. _Chibi nodded.

"There's two paths before us, but only one choice." Kurow leapt onto Chibi's back, grinning ruefully. "Amaterasu and the others are on their way to face Orochi-and we don't wanna be late!"

**0-0-0**

And after a long trek to the top of the stairway leading up to Orochi's chamber, we found ourselves in the same position as we'd been in a hundred years in the future.

"So that's the real-deal Orochi?" Kurow asked, leaning forward on Chibi's back to get a better look at the spectacle. "Looks pretty diesel. And Amaterasu's doing all she can to hold her ground..."

I just winced and looked away. The _last _thing I wanted to see was my old self, especially now.

"Hey, I think this is it!" Kurow shook me by the arm. "You and dude's mom are about to win this fight!"

Guess what happened?

The _exact same thing that happened the last time we'd witnessed this fight._

That's _really _all you need to know.

Kurow grit his teeth moments after Orochi's Fire Head had been cleaved in half. "C'mon... where _are _you..."

Chibi suddenly began growling, and I glanced up and swore.

"Apparently calling in the distraction."

A boulder fell from the sky, heading straight for Nagi. Chibi began barking furiously without words to accompany his emotions, but he didn't need them.

I just held my breath. This memory was still branded fresh on my mind, no matter how long ago it had first happened.

It was Shiranui that had saved Nagi's life in this part of the timeline, even after being ambushed and frozen in the Ice Room. And now he was giving the last of his energy here, in the Moon Cave, where he'd agreed to let us go in his stead.

And then to make things all the more _brilliant_, Akuro decided to show up.

"Hold up!" Kurow grabbed Chibi's scruff as the younger god tried to dart forward to his grandfather's side. "There he is!"

The brothers leapt off the cliff with that, leaving me to bury my face in my hands, grumble _where did I go wrong_, and jump off after them. The ground trembled violently and more boulders fell from the sky as we went.

Kurow paused to pull his flute out, eyes trained on Akuro, while Chibi knocked him out of the way of a boulder.

"Dammit, he's getting the blood!" I swore, skidding to a stop below them. And sure enough, the demon lord came to a halt at Orochi's altar.

Time seemed to stand still, but it wasn't by my hand. The entire Moon Cave went silent for what seemed like an eternity, no one able to move, before Akuro turned around and a wave of dark energy almost knocked us off our feet.

"... it's over... he's won." Kurow muttered, falling to his knees. "He got the blood."

Chibi just growled, watching our antagonist rise into the sky.

"Unless... well, there's only way to find out." Our partner shakily floated up and got his wings up. "Guys. Get out of here. I'm going after Akuro."

"Are you suicidal?" I demanded as he turned and started off. "Hey! Don't you ignore me, you lunar lunatic! _KUROW!_"

Chibi whimpered softly as a boulder landed a few feet away from us. _Li, he's right. We need to get out of here._

I glared off in Kurow's direction, but turned on my heel and started running for the entrance. "Fine, whatever. Come on. History's not completely over yet."

**0-0-0**

I knew full well better than to intrude on Shiranui's death when I knew for a fact that _someone _from the Alliance of the Sun and my family-either one of my grandparents-would be there, so I let Chibi go on his own.

Shinshu Field was just as cold and empty as it had been the last time we'd stood out here, just a few hours ago. The moon had unraveled the clouds that had coated it earlier, and now shone as if mocking us. Mocking me.

"The moon borrows the sun's light to shine." A voice spoke up from a few feet away, behind me. "And the clouds cover up both. They can act as a shield or a veil. Both the sun and the moon can give the clouds their silver lining."

I turned around, locking eyes with the girl who looked almost like a ghost in this light. Sayuri gave me a grim smile, stepping forward out of the shadows.

"It's been a while. How goes the adventuring?"

"It's going." I fought to keep my temper in check, my voice level. "How's the _project_?"

For a moment, my ancestor's eyes seemed to flash dangerously, but a cloud suddenly covered the moon to hide it. It took her a few seconds to reply, and instead she fingered her goggles.

"... I should've figured someone would spill the secret sooner or later. Funny, isn't it? Sooner for me, later for you. And it's impossible to tell whether or not your grandmother will ever kn-"

I slid out Dreamcatcher, clutching the wooden shaft tightly. "_What do you want with my family?_"

Sayuri froze... and then burst out laughing.

"Gods above, what'd they _tell _you? Termina's deity has a flair for the dramatic, and so does Emil, but for them to make me out to be a villain? That's a new low, even for them!" She dropped her hand to her side, staring up skyward. I gritted my teeth.

"They weren't the ones who told me what's going on in here." I raised a hand and held it over my heart, not even noticing how hard I was shaking. All of the mirth suddenly disappeared from Sayuri's face and she stood erectly.

"Then who did?"

Suddenly, I lost control of my own body. My arms fell limp at my sides, and I was seeing through my eyes from a distance. Everything had blurred, and every sound was like it was underwater.

"_Don't tell me you don't recognize my handiwork when you see it, Junk Heap Girl? Or do you not recognize me without a body coated in thorns?_"

Sayuri's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "Mimiru... we-we left you in the Tsuta Ruins."

"_That's right._" The words were flowing from my own lips, like I was saying them, but with Mimiru's voice-her malice. "_You and the fairy left me to rot. You locked me up in the depths, poisoned the flow of the water, and abandoned me. Do you _ever _get tired of running?_"

Sayuri bit her lip. "Your fight's with me. Not her. Let her g-"

"_Too late. Aren't you watching the clock, Junk Heap Girl? Where are those automatons you gave up our whole village for? Shouldn't they be swooping in to your rescue?_ _Your tool only has an hour left._ _Why don't you tell her who you are? What you've done to me, and now what you've done to her?_"

A laugh bubbled up from my chest, and as quickly as I'd lost it, I regained control of my body.

The field was silent for a few minutes, and the Storm Tribe woman just gave me a half sympathetic, half fearful look.

Finally, she stepped forward, knelt down, and pulled me into her arms. I was too stunned to even fight her.

"... I have so much to apologize for. So much to repent for." She murmured. "I'd almost hoped I could get through this without the plan being broken, but there are forces at work that neither I could anticipate... nor you prophesize."

"No one is perfect, _mon ami._"

My eyes widened, and Sayuri's grip tightened slightly. "No, but we should have been where it finally counted. ... Ushiwaka. See to your allies. This isn't your story to tell-it's mine."

Behind Sayuri's back and right in my own field of vision, the Moon Tribe prophet bowed mockingly. "Indeed it is. I'll be seeing you."

And with a flash of sparkles, I was alone with the woman even I wasn't sure what to think of anymore.

**0-0-0-0**

_What's that? Crappy chapters and cliffhangers don't go together? NONSENSE it's like chocolate and peanut butter._

_Note that I am NOT pleased with how I wrote the end of Manpuku's arc, but it was just taking too long to get through. So naturally, I called in Hal, got a script written, and thus was born a new product of the Orochi Scout Cookies Independent Troop. AND got through there in the span of a few hours when I finally sat down to put the chapter together.  
_

_Also note that this sudden character development on Mimiru's part was completely unplanned... but it works better than you all would expect. More on that next chapter._

_For now, Manpuku, why don't you close us out? Good news: we are ACTUALLY in the finale arc now (I lied.), meaning chapter uploads will be a LOT more often now._

Thank Amaterasu.

**Manpuku: ... okay, then. Please review, everyone!**

Kurow: ... Okay, the dynamic trio's back together!

Chibi: Why can't we have an adjective that starts with a 't', too? It'll be like _**dynamic **_**duo, only there are three of us.**

Lilac: If you say terrific trio, I'm going to stab you with this spearblade.

**Kurow: ... we'll be the terrific trio!**

Lilac: *smacks with dictionary*

**Manpuku: ... so, uh, like I said, please review?**


	28. Dual Betrayal

_Welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun!_

_I'lllll explain at the bottom author's note. For now:_

Thanks to _**ShunpoGekigami**__ and __**The Pokemon Otaku **__for reviewing! Guess I shouldn't have expected many reviews when, y'know, I'm updating daily._

_And now, take it away, Chibi!_

**Chibi: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters, and only owns her OCs!**

Lilac: You think they'd get the message by now...

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Maybe I should start from the beginning. Five hundred years ago." Sayuri's voice was distant, even though she was right next to me. "Things have gone too far for me to let you go on without knowing the whole story, Lilac. Waka let his child know the truth-it's time I did the same.

"The Storm Tribe is an offshoot of the Moon Tribe. We were the first to leave our home in search of a new life. We grew tired of living on a giant rock, tired of the technology that we'd grown up with, and tired of the system of class. The moon was viewed once as a place of enlightenment, but our rulers-they grew corrupt. Mad. A band of us took it upon ourselves to descend to the world below. We entered this earth, the land of the gods, through a storm-thus we were the Storm Tribe.

"We claimed one half of Ryoshima Coast as our territory, as the native people of Nippon already existed on the other half. But we warred with each other-they believed us demons, and my own ancestors grew ambitious. At last, we came to a truce-each year, each tribe would give the other a sacrifice to keep the peace between us and the gods. It was a foolish belief, but believe it we did.

"On the final year that we existed, I was the sacrifice. I ran, ran away with the automatons I'd created-you know them as the Twin Demons of Ezofuji, which I did bury there-and returned to my home to find it destroyed. The people who had never received their sacrifice claimed that the Okami of that time had struck our village with a storm so great that it wiped everyone out."

"A Great Storm." I interrupted shakily. Sayuri nodded.

"Whether it was called by the gods or not, it really did kill everyone of my tribe-all but one. I had befriended the daughter of the village chief in my childhood, and she became... well, a demon wouldn't be the right way to put it." Her expression grew mournful. "She began to command demons and took hold of a dark magic unknown by any in Nippon but the demon lords themselves. She was locked away in the Tsuta Ruins, but they were opened in the future... in your past."

"Amaterasu and I opened those ruins." I nodded. My ancestor sighed.

"Right again. An enraged spirit was unleashed, and she did the unthinkable-made a deal with the Sisters Fate-when the demon lord she was bound to for her power was destroyed. She told them of a rogue in the balance of life, someone who was returning to life to try and stop the inevitable."

"Lechku and Nechku's rise from the earth in the New World." I looked Sayuri in the eye. "That friend who bound herself to a demon lord... it was Mimiru, wasn't it?"

"An agent of the Sisters Fate." She nodded solemnly. "I never imagined that she would go to such lengths, but here she is... and everything I've worked for has been thrown into jeopardy."

The Storm Tribe girl took my hands in hers. "Lilac, listen to me. I never meant any ill will to you or your family, but I _needed _you. Lily was my original plan, but seeing her with Oni... I couldn't bring myself to tear them apart."

"If I had stayed with Issun, you would have waited until I had children." I realized. "And it would just go on from there."

"That's where you're wrong." She shook her head. "The aging curse... yes, it was my doing. You two never truly loved each other, either, but I had to be sure. I'm sorry for taking that from you, but I didn't have a choice. Once I was sure, I... I used you. I used you, in this body, to bring myself back. Once all of the data is copied, you'll resume your normal form, and I'll take on that one."

Sayuri stood up, pulling me up with her. "I know this won't change anything I've done, everything I've done wrong. Forgive a foolish old woman when I say I'm sorry."

The breeze whistled through the grass, and the clouds over the moon began to slide out of the way. I stared into her eyes, suddenly aged with centuries of tragedy and toil, the eyes that I suddenly understood were also mine.

Sayuri and I were like two sides of a cracked mirror-I was still young on the inside and tried to act older than I was, while she had lived for hundreds of years and still acted the same way she had been before death.

"... I'm not the one who should forgive you." I shook my head. "If I would, I could. I can't forgive you, but I can trust you."

I stepped back and grinned at my ancestor ruefully. "You heard Mimiru-we're running low on time. I'll handle her, and you do what you have to do. Set what you did wrong right. Chibiterasu and I-we have a world to save, and so do you."

Sayuri let out a shaky breath, as if on the verge of tears, before nodding. "An agent of the Sisters Fate is no opponent to be taken lightly. The process is almost over, and when it is, I'll help you. Hold your own against her as long as you can."

"I'll try."

She stood back and offered me a grim smile. "I'm... I'm glad I chose you, Alexis. You really do live up to your name."

And with that, the Storm Tribe girl was gone without a trace. As if she'd never been there.

And a purple cloud began streaking across the sky to the Moon Cave. I narrowed my eyes and took out Oni's stopwatch, glancing at the inside before holding it against my heart. Chibi would know to meet me there. There wasn't time to fall back and regroup-it was now or never.

"It's time to make history." I muttered, and began running across the field.

**0-0-0**

"If I ever see a cave again, it'll be too soon..." Oni grumbled, shielding his eyes against what looked to be-_finally_-an opening out of the cavern.

"Hang on. That's not sunlight, it's fire." Lily's eyes narrowed. She lifted her hammer off of her shoulder and began walking faster. "Either they burned a barrier around that other exit, or we came in a complete circle."

"We can't have. We went up more than we went down." Amaterasu pointed out as her Celestial Envoy reached the exit. "... did they really completely burn us in?"

Lily swore from up ahead. "There really is no way out." She whirled around and leered at Waka. "So much for your other way out."

The prophet raised his hands defensively. "I can't prophesize everything, _ma fleur._ Even you know that."

The sun goddess just shook her head and walked past both of them. "... That fire barrier actually doesn't look like it lasts for more than a foot or so. I can't dispel it right now, but we might be able to get through it by... well..."

"By jumping right through the flames and getting some nasty burns, but still ultimately surviving. I like this plan." Oni grinned. "The sooner we're out in the open again, the better off we'll be-and we can get an update on how everyone's doing down below. Who wants to go first?"

He was greeted with dull looks.

"... fine, I'll do it. I'll see you guys on the other side." The deity of Termina rolled his blank eyes and, without another word, covered his face with his arms and dashed through the barrier covering the cavern entrance.

Moments later, there was a series of coughs from the other side. "All clear!"

Lily turned, raised an eyebrow at Waka, and headed through the barrier herself. The prophet just shook his head, sighed, and glanced at Amaterasu.

"After you, _ma cherie._"

"You have a twisted idea of kindness."

"Even I have my flaws. You know that."

She didn't move to leave the cavern, instead crossing her arms and turning around. "That darkness is stronger than ever. I can barely bloom a flower now, let alone bring the sun to the sky."

"It's always the darkest just before dawn." Waka pointed out. "... We don't want to miss the show."

"Is that all this is to you?" The sun goddess's eyes flashed dangerously. "Our children are down there fighting for the fate of Nippon and the Celestial Plain, and you treat it like a _show _put on for spectators' amusement. You broke a child's heart today already. Two more are going to be shattered if they haven't been already."

The Moon Tribesman didn't meet her gaze as she turned to glare at him, instead sliding a pendant into his hand and staring at its polished surface. Reflected in it was a hazy image of the Moon Cave. "You misunderstand me yet again. Merely an expression, I assure you."

Amaterasu chose not to reply, instead breaking into a running start and bursting through the wall of flames. Waka just shook his head and disappeared in a flash of sparkles.

**0-0-0**

Sure enough, Chibi and Ishaku met me at the mouth of the Moon Cave.

"Hey! You! Lily lookalike! Where've you been?" The Poncle demanded. Chibi tilted his head at me.

"Keeping paradoxes from happening. You guys saw Akuro come this way too, right?" I stood up off the rock wall. Chibi's expression turned grim.

_... we saw more than that. He came to Kamiki Village and... killed Shiranui. He said he'd face me in the Moon Cave, so... here we are.  
_

"Not a word about Kurow?"

_Not one._

I sighed and turned toward the inside of the cave. "Maybe Kurow hadn't caught up with him yet. Either way, we need to go face Akuro, and we need to do it now."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Ishaku demanded. "I have a partner to avenge, and you guys have a world to save, so let's _go_!"

Chibi glanced at me and nodded. _Leap before you think?_

"You know it." And we dashed up the stairs leading to Orochi's throne room.

Just as we'd left it earlier, it was still wrecked. The Torii gate at the entrance had snapped at the top, and boulders were still engraved into the ground around the main shrine.

Speaking of the main shrine...

Chibi's eyes widened. _Li? Is that...?_

It may have been days since we'd last seen him, but I would've recognized our first partner anywhere. Chibi began to rush forward, but I pulled him back.

"Hold your horses!" Ishaku snapped just as I hissed "Chibi, you can't feel that? There's malice all over the place! It's worse than Blight's hold on Sei-An City in here!"

"... I don't know about that, but there's an evil aura in here." Ishaku agreed, bouncing off of Chibi's head and turning to face the figure on the shrine. "Just like the one before. Just who or what are you?!"

"And so we meet again, Child of the Sun." Akuro's voice boomed through the chamber, though there was no eyeball inside a mouth lacking the rest of the face or body. "... or should I say, Mutt?"

"You guys _know _this brat?!" Ishaku demanded. I covered my mouth with one hand.

"Kuni..."

"You should be more humble." Kurow emerged from behind Kuni, face almost expressionless.

"Where are all these kids coming from?"

"Ishaku? Shut up."

"But I-"

"Shut. Up."

"After all, you are standing in the presence of the Dark King. You must bow in his presence."

"The hell if we will!" I snapped abruptly. Chibi just gaped, terror in his amber eyes as I stepped forward. "You had better give me one good reason why I shouldn't come up there and slit your throat with this spearblade, you dirty _traitor_!"

Kurow stared at me and almost seemed to grin ruefully from the distance. "... you can't choose your destiny. And this..." He knelt down before Akuro/Kuni. "This was chosen for me."

"Because the second reincarnation of Amaterasu defeated Yami, I was forced to find five different vessels." Our possessed partner waved a hand, and the five demon lords we'd defeated over the past few days all appeared-Anura, Bullhead, King Fury, and Sen and Ryo's Kabuki doll. "All the vessels were to be united into one powerful being, but each vessel was imbued with its own will and acted accordingly. So I had you destroy them, as their independence did not suit my needs."

I gritted my teeth and Chibi began growling behind me. Kuni's arms spread out as Akuro continued. "And you found a more suitable vessel for me in the process!"

Kurow lifted his head as if on cue. "He means Kuni. Kuni is the perfect vessel for him."

Ishaku cut in before I could hit the other side with any cluster F-bombs. "What the heck are you talking about, kid?! Are you saying that Chibi and whatsherface were working for the two of you this whole time?"

The Moon Tribe boy shrugged casually. "You catch on quick, dude. From the moment you met Kuni, he was already under Akuro's control. Kuni didn't know it, but he was helping Akuro. Think about it, dude... You defeated Master Anura and Bullhead with Kuni, right? Then you lost him and went to look for him in the city."

Chibi glanced at me and I just trembled, hands balling into fists as Kurow continued. "That's where you fought Sen, Ryo, and King Fury. Everything you've done is because Akuro _wanted you to do it._"

Akuro smirked through Kuni. "I should thank you... Mutt. Li."

_You don't have the right! _Chibi barked furiously. _You... you don't have the right to call us by those names anymore, you... you..._

"Thanks to you two, Yami's new world order can be born. Allow me to express my gratitude in the only way I know how."

Chibi's markings suddenly vanished and he collapsed onto the stone in his human form. A black hole began to open behind us, and I wrapped my arms around him as if to shield him. I glared up at Kurow and Akuro, locking eyes especially with our more recent partner.

_"Dude, we're nothing alike._"

"You liar." I hissed through my teeth, blood boiling as the darkness dragged us back. "We trusted you..."

**0-0-0**

The reflection in the water began to blur, and Lily gritted her teeth and turned to Waka.

"What the hell is the matter with your kid?!"

"He thinks he chose his path." The prophet shook his head, staring at his own pendant, at the scene unfolding from his creation's eyes. "I have no control over Kurow, and I never did."

"That's fantastic, but in case you haven't noticed, _he's siding with the guy trying to destroy Nippon._"

"Lily, lay off." Oni took hold of her arm and pulled her back. "You heard Waka-he doesn't have any control over what's going on. None of us do."

"So we just _sit here_ and watch the world end?" She demanded.

"The world hasn't ended until it's ended." Amaterasu stated firmly, eyes trained on the images on the surface of the pond they had gathered around. "As long as Chibiterasu is alive... have the same faith you had in me."

Lily bit her lip and relaxed. "Fine. Fine, just... forget it. It's not over until it's over. Okay. Let's watch until it's over."

**0-0-0**

I shut my eyes as the black hole dragged us in... and deposited us onto solid ground.

"Child of the Sun, and your Envoy..."

My eyes flew open as Chibi fought to get to his feet. Kuni stood at the top of a pyramid and a throne, Kurow at his side.

"I will teach you the true meaning of pain-Behold! This is the power of one who wields both dark and light!"

I raised an arm over Chibi's eyes and turned my head away as light flashed through the arena. When it died away, Kuni's aura had turned both red and blue. The emotions in the air were a terrifying mix of fear, power, pride, fury, uncertainty, and...

... reluctance.

"What the heck are those monsters..." Ishaku muttered. "Hang on. It's okay. Just stay calm here. There's no way we're gonna lose!"

"No way you can lose, eh?" Kurow raised an eyebrow. He stepped forward in front of Akuro. "Is that because you think you're _worthy _to fight Akuro? No... I don't think so."

Four balls of dark energy descended from the sky, melded together, and exploded. When the air cleared, all five of the demon lords were there before us.

"The heck?! Hey, that's cheating!" Ishaku snapped. "Fight fair! One on one! C'mon!"

"One on one? You silly insect." Kurow's voice took on a more serious tone you only heard from him once in a blue moon. "I said you are not worthy to fight Akuro. How hard is it to understand that?"

I stepped forward, reading the air like an open book. "It's hard for me to understand... is that _pity _in the air, Kurow? Reluctance? Your emotions are standing out like a sore thumb."

He glared at me. "You're bluffing, Frostbite."

"You wish." I locked my gaze with his, holding it until Chibi dashed past me, resuming his wolf form, and tried to tackle King Fury. He was instantly knocked back by a bolt of lightning.

"Listen, Chibi, Li. This isn't fair-you can't win!" Ishaku pointed out. I whirled around.

"Do we have a choice?!"

_We can't just let them win!_ Chibi barked furiously. _I...I know that our friends are still in there somewhere!  
_

"... You guys really wanna save Kuni and Kurow, don't you?"

"So just how do you plan on doing that?" Kurow laughed coldly from the platform. I clenched my hands into fists as he continued. "Are you gonna fight like you did against King Fury? I don't think you'll be as lucky this time-either of you. You haven't been able to do anything on your own, have you? Face it-you're just a pup and a little girl. What can you do?"

I finally snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, this _little girl _can kick your ass!"

Ishaku muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _she is so related to Lily_ while Chibi gaped. Kurow blinked, then burst out laughing.

"_Sure_ you can!"

Sen and Ryo's puppet unleashed a blast of fire at us, and I barely had time to think. Suddenly, we were back in the Playhouse, and I was collapsed against the wall.

"_Halt_!"

The blast froze in its passage, and I hauled Chibi out of the way and rolled to the side just before time resumed and the fireball hit its original mark.

"Dang! You guys are gonna die out there without some help!" Ishaku panicked.

"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious!"

"You guys need a partne-hold on... I think I got me an idea! And it's _crazy _enough that it just might work!"

Chibi rolled to his paws. _I'm worried now._

"Listen up, you guys! I'm assuming you can use the Celestial Brush, right?"

Chibi lifted his tail, dull and lifeless as though it was. I could almost see the Poncle scowling and hurriedly placed a hand on Chibi's back, focusing a small prayer to him. His markings flickered into sight slowly, and ink began to drip from his tail.

"... All right, then. Follow my lead-I can't do this by myself. Ready?" He bounced forward. "We're gonna split time and space... and summon a partner for ya!"

"He's right, it is crazy." I shook my head in disbelief as Ishaku dragged his sword down in a slicing motion. Chibi Powerslashed the same line... and a crack actually appeared.

"Holy Amaterasu... you guys actually did it." I blinked. Chibi gave me a wolf-grin.

_Shun the nonbeliever._

"Who was the one who gave you back the power to do that, again?"

"All right, we did it!" Ishaku cheered. "Now, call out to one of your partners! Do it now, you guys!"

I exchanged a glance with Chibi. "I think we can do better than that."

_Oh, yeah. _Chibi turned toward the crack in the fabric of reality. _Manpuku! It's time to own up to that promise! _

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Kagu! Nanami! Now's when we need you most!"

Kurow sighed and shook his head, darting forward with his flute. "Sorry, dudes... time to shut you down."

He slashed at the crack, and it began fixing itself. Ishaku groaned.

"What the heck is he doing?! The summoning portal is closed!"

The portal stopped at a small portion of what it had been a few minutes ago, but still existent. Kurow locked eyes with me and gave a small nod.

"So much for that." He commented offhandedly. "Kind of a waste, if you ask me."

His left hand began counting down at his side. Three, two-

"It wasn't a waste!" Manpuku's voice rang out. I grinned broadly and turned to Chibi.

"I would highfive you if you were in human form right now."

_I know._

Sure enough, Manpuku burst through the portal and landed in front of us, embracing Chibi. "I made a promise to you guys-I said I'd be there if you ever needed me!"

Kurow paused, then rolled his eyes. "I don't see what one of you can-"

"Who said I came alone?" Our more recent partner grinned. Kagu and Nanami leapt through the portal.

"Pooch! Lilac!"

"Squiddy! Elza!"

Nanami pulled herself forward to hug Chibi just as Manpuku had while I exchanged a knowing look with Kagu. She nodded, then turned toward Chibi and Nanami.

"There'll be time for hugs later! Kurow, just what in Amaterasu's name do you think you're doing? You, Lilac and Chibi-you're all friends, aren't you?"

Kurow turned away. "Friends? I don't have any of those. Never have, never will."

"Do you ever get tired of lying to yourself?" I crossed my arms. He ignored me.

"Hey, now that the old crew's back together, let's stomp the bad guy!" Ishaku cheered. Akuro himself, meanwhile, just looked amused.

"Intriguing... let us take this to a more appropriate stage."

A barrier appeared around the six of us, rose up, and broke into separate parts, each one flying off in a different direction. I swore, slamming a hand against mine and sinking to my knees.

A bell suddenly tolled in the depths of my mind, and childish laughter followed it.

"_Forgetting something?_"

**(Play The Executioner - Umineko no Naku Koro Ni)**

Mimiru had completely shed any thought of facing me in my own mind and instead materialized in the barrier with me. She had also shed off the illusion of looking like me-she took on the appearance of a ginger girl with thorns all over her skin and spiderwebs hanging from her axe.

"Do you see what Sayuri did to me?" She asked, voice laid thick with malicious intent and demonic power. "She was the one who locked me in the Tsuta Ruins, let me consort with the Spider Queen, let me become this... and you, you killed my source of power for six hundred years!"

"This is what you meant by going into berserker mode..." I muttered, sliding out Dreamcatcher. "And Sayuri just sped up the process, didn't she? You lost all of whatever illusion of sanity you were putting on when you put two and two together and finally saw her for real."

"Actually, this was when your time would have been up anyway." The demoness grinned crookedly as the barrier dissolved and we landed on one of Akuro's arenas. "But this stage doesn't fit me... Yami's designs never really suited me, to be honest. Why don't we take this to _our _stage?"

The Dark World fell away to the checkerboard arena again, now in pieces. Shards of the board floated around the main arena, forming a staircase leading up to it. Mimiru grinned and backflipped, disappearing from sight. I stared up the path leading to her 'stage'.

"... Sayuri, I'm counting on you." I muttered, before catching sight of a glowing silhouette far above the board. We were under my heart.

And suddenly, it clicked.

"... and you're counting on me."

I twirled Dreamcatcher in one hand and began the ascent to the final showdown.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Surprise! A chapter a whole day after the last one? Welcome to the finale arc, where we play by completely different rules.. I actually finished this YESTERDAY, but from here on out updates will be daily._

_Tomorrow on Closer to the Rising Sun: __**Obligatory Boss Rush.**__ I'm sure you all know what that means._

**Ishaku: Review, everyone!**


	29. Obligatory Boss Rush

_Welcome back, one and all, to Closer to the Rising Sun! Not much to say here, except thanks to __**ShunpoGekigami **__for reviewing!_

**Nanami: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or the corresponding characters, and only owns the OCs!**

0-0-0-0-0

I ascended the makeshift staircase and slid onto the main arena, narrowly avoiding an ambush swipe from Mimiru's axe. She grinned hollowly.

"Let's see how long you last."

"I can say the same for you." I smirked back and began to dash to the other side of the stage, putting as much distance between the two of us as possible. The battle wouldn't be in my favor until I had Sayuri on my side, and she wasn't going to fully revive without the chains on her being broken.

As soon as I reached the edge, I turned and aimed my spearblade, then threw it with all of the strength I had in me.

It hit the mark.

The blade sliced through the chains and let the silhouette of Sayuri free, allowing her to gain power and wake up whenever she needed to. Mimiru halted in her chase.

"Not bad. Now why don't you fight like you're not the coward you really are?"

"Coward?" I backed up against the edge, watching Dreamcatcher clatter to the board behind her. _Crap. Should've thought that one through. _"I'm no coward."

And I let myself fall back off of the arena, whirling around to face the void I was tumbling towards and closing my eyes. Time magic wouldn't help me here. I needed an actual power. Something I couldn't lose, something that could gain me an upper hand until Sayuri woke up.

And then the memory hit me- the memory of commanding a storm to halt, and it obeying.

I grinned and stretched both arms out in front of me, willing for a gale to come and push me back up. And come it did-I was able to regain my balance as it lifted me back up to the arena. Mimiru scowled.

"It _surprises _you that as a member of the Storm Tribe, you can command a storm? Fine, then-let's level the playing field again."

She outstretched her arms and spiderwebs began shooting from her fingertips, spanning the entire battlefield and creating one giant web in its center. With a casual wave, she began ascending-towards Sayuri.

"Oh, that's how it's going to be?" I muttered, then willed the gales up further. "How's that old children's song go again? _The itsy-bitsy spider went up the waterspout..._"

If Mimiru knew the song, she didn't pay it any mind. I rolled my eyes and held a hand out, summoning a cloud between her and Sayuri.

"_Down came the rain and washed the spider out._"

The demoness let out a shriek as torrents of rain fell onto her, collapsing her web and sending her back to the floor. "You-you-"

"I what?" I asked sweetly, jumping down onto the board and clasping my hands together innocently. "So much for your level playing field, Mimiru. We're on equal ground now."

She glowered at me before raising both hands. "We're not finished yet, Alexis. Nowhere close."

Her webs ascended and wrapped around Sayuri, holding her in midair. This time if I tried to break her out from a distance, I'd end up slicing her straight through.

I gritted my teeth. "Then I'll have to take you on myself."

"You can't fight me alone. You can only delay the inevitable." Mimiru grinned and raised a hand toward me. "It may take fifteen or twenty minutes-an hour, if you really are a fighter-but you're already caught in the web."

"... I don't know what's going to kill me first, then." I paused to grab Dreamcatcher off the floor and give Mimiru a dull look. "You or the spider jokes. Are you a Scorpio?"

"Very funny." She returned the look before shooting some webs at me. They had their intended effect, and I collapsed to the floor. "Might as well use one more-you look like you're in a bind."

I groaned into the floor as what sounded like a bell rang from far above us. One, two, and three tolls.

"I'm a woman of my word, Alexis." Mimiru giggled like a child on Christmas. "So _when the bell tolls three-_"

"-_Under the axe you'll be._" Sayuri finished for her. I lifted my head up just in time to see my ancestor take a swing at her and literally _slice her head off _with her version of Dreamcatcher. Black blood spilled all over the floor, and Mimiru's head slid and rolled. I had to look away as Sayuri knelt down and cut my webs. "Really not under the axe, but it's good enough. That should hold her for a few minutes."

"A few _minutes_? What, it's not so easy that we can just cut her head off and be out of here?" I demanded. As if to answer my question, threads of cobwebs began stretching out from the demoness's severed head back to her neck and pulling them together. "... oh."

"You see?" Sayuri rolled her eyes. "Cockroaches wish they were her."

"_I heard that, Junk Heap Girl!_" Mimiru spat, pushing herself off the floor and raising her hands to twist her head into its proper position. "Flattery isn't my style, but really, cockroaches wish they were _you_."

"So if cutting off her head doesn't work, how does she _die_?" I asked hopefully, stepping back. Sayuri did the same.

"My best guess? Get her heart." She offered before we each had to dive out of the way of shot webs. "Where a spider's heart actually is-well, that's anyone's guess!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mimiru smirked and raised her axe. "Maybe you'll find out-take a lucky shot."

I exchanged a glance with my ancestor before we each did the exact _opposite _and began running to the sides of the arena. Mimiru cackled and began to spin her web anew, angling it so that Sayuri and I were on different sides of it.

"You never learn, do you?" I called, sliding back and willing another torrent of rain. "_Down came the rain and-_aggh!"

A pincer fell from the web and slid right through my stomach. Sayuri yelled something, but I couldn't hear it over my own heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

I swayed for a moment, then stared up above the arena as my vision slowly went red to stare at the pulsating mass. We were under my heart.

Mimiru wouldn't have killed me if she had beheaded me. I would have still felt the pain, maybe even watched from my severed head as she ascended to finish the job with no hindrance, but she couldn't kill me inside myself unless she injured my actual heart.

And, I realized with more pain in my stomach than from the pincer running me through, that was her actual plan right now, even though Sayuri had stopped her from carrying it out the way she'd intended to originally.

I coughed up some blood and slid down to my knees. I couldn't die like this, but I sure as hell couldn't regenerate from the wound even if I got the pincer out. "S-Sayuri... it's... it's up to... you now..."

**0-0-0**

Meanwhile, in the Dark World, Chibiterasu wasn't exactly having the best day of his life.

Well, that was a given-his grandfather had died, his brother had betrayed him, his best friend turned out to be possessed, and now when it had finally seemed like they'd had a shot at taking the fight to Akuro, he had split everyone up.

The younger sun god hadn't been completely on his own very many times, but this time definitely topped all the rest as he stumbled through a number of battles with demons. The truth was, he was tired, he was lonely, and what he wanted most right now was to curl up out in the sunshine-maybe in Shinshu Field, or out on the beach at Ryoshima Coast- listen to Kurow's awful flute-playing, Li's voice, and just plain out finally get to relax. Forget about demons trying to take over the world. Forget about best friends betraying him.

_You'll get there soon enough, _he told himself. _After we're finished here... we can all go home. It'll all be over. We can all be happy again._

Suddenly he squinted off into the distance, an ember catching his eye. That wasn't an ember-that was fire.

Flaming hair, to be exact.

_Manpuku! _Chibi barked, running across the islands to meet him before noticing the demon barrier around his partner. _Oh, come on..._

After some righteous heroic demon-slaying, the barrier dissolved, and Manpuku climbed to his feet unsteadily.

"Thanks for the save, Pork Chop! Now we can take the fight to Akuro!"

Chibi swung Manpuku onto his back... and collapsed on the floor.

_Manpuku... seriously... you're a great guy, but when this is all over, PLEASE try and follow through with that diet..._

"Ahaha... sorry..."

**0-0-0**

On the other side of the arena, Sayuri had pretty much gotten the same message as I had and was currently staring up at the pulsating mass of flesh that was my heart, then at Mimiru.

And then she started scaling the web.

She made it up to Mimiru, hung onto the web with one hand, and used the other to plunge her version of Dreamcatcher through the spider demon's side.

It must have been a lucky hit, because black blood began spraying out in larger spurts than when her head had been sliced off. Sayuri let go of the web and fell to the floor next to me as Mimiru let out a shriek and collapsed to the other side.

My ancestor mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a French swear word-_not that I would know because I took Spanish, not French-_and knelt down next to me. "We're going to need to get that thing out. This is going to hurt, Alexis."

I coughed up some blood. "More than it already does?"

She smiled grimly. "True. Brace yourself." And with that, she slid the pincer out of my stomach, discarding it on the floor as I choked and doubled over. "It's okay now. We're finished. Mimiru's finished, and as soon as we get you back onto the reality plane it'll be like nothing ever happened..."

Mimiru howled over Sayuri's words, and collapsed on the other side of the web.

"Breathe, Li. You'll be fine." She muttered, taking me by the shoulders. "Just breathe, and close your eyes. All right? You'll be back on the reality plane in a few seconds."

I stared into my ancestor's eyes for a second, swayed, and finally passed out.

**0-0-0**

When I finally came back around, Kagu was standing over me, arms crossed over her chest.

"Good, you finally woke up. Everyone else is scattered all over the place-I haven't seen Pooch yet."

I struggled to get to my feet, one hand instantly going to my stomach to make sure it was intact. It was. "-Kagu, what we talked about before we left. The Great Storm. Did it eve-"

The Miko-in-training crossed her arms and stared out at the void around us. "... I'm not sure. Everyone was watching it, issuing warning for a hurricane, and as soon as it made landfall it... vanished. If it was supposed to hit the old ruins in South Coast, it doesn't make any sense."

I glanced down at myself, still eight years old and in Sayuri's Storm Tribe outfit. "You're right, it really doesn't..."

Kagu turned around and slid out her Prayer Slips. "Well, there's no use sitting around here. We need to find Pooch and the others and save Kurow and Kuni."

"Yeah, you're right." I pulled out Dreamcatcher. "Lead the way, Kagu."

She grinned slightly. "It'd be my pleasure. I already exorcised all of the minor demons in this area-Sen, Ryo, and King Fury are all that's left. We can take them together without Pooch, right?"

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but girl power. Let's move."

After heading across several of the islands (which, thankfully, Kagu had already taken care of), we came to a chasm leading to the next area.

With a pretty malicious emotion cloud over it.

"I'm betting that's Sen and Ryo." I muttered as Kagu nonchalantly walked across the chasm. "Wait, those had better not be-"

"Tiles that only Miko and spirits can see?" She gave me a smug look. I rolled my eyes, slid out my brush, and used Tsutagami's power to pull myself over. "I'm betting you this is Sen and Ryo."

"I'm not paying you if it is."

"Whatever. Get ready."

**Initiating Combat Mode**

"Oh, that's just sad. They've been downgraded from bosses to normal enemies."

Kagu pulled out a few Prayer Slips. "He's going to aim straight for me. We need to hit him from a distance and stay as far away as we can. Ready?"

"If you are." I nodded, leaping out of the way as Sen/Ryo's Kabuki doll slammed a hand down where we had been standing.

Kagu began spamming Prayer Slips while I just did things the easy way-used the candles around us for Inferno, painted a few Cherry Bombs, and basically had fun with explosions.

After several rounds of this, the theatre demons finally seemed to temporarily lose their grip. Kagu grabbed my hand, and several curse symbols appeared over the two.

"Pooch isn't here, but you have his powers. Lilac, you have to guide me."

"Do I have to connect these in a certain order, orrrr..."

"Top left, down, cross to top right, down, right, back to start."

"... that's helpful. Switch hands, I'm not left-handed." I told her, switching places and guiding Kagu's Prayer Slips to their marks, then repeating to get rid of the dots.

Sen and Ryo let out a demented sound that might have been a howl, but it was muffled. I paused. "Are they...?"

"Not sentient anymore." Kagu nodded grimly. "I think we knocked all of the independence out of these demons. They can't even express their pain..."

"That's... depressing."

Unfortunately, the distraction worked, because Kagu was knocked out of the way and placed on the doll's shoulder.

"Oh COME ON!"

**0-0-0**

And this seemed like an appropriate time to switch over and see what Chibi and Manpuku were up to!

... Currently, having problems against Master Anura.

If the younger sun god were in his human form, beads of sweat would be rolling off his face at the moment as he rolled on his paws, focusing on both the giant toad in front of him and Manpuku on the other side. _Come on... just one more fruit..._

The bloated demon lord finally began to try and jump out of the water, but with two motions of Chibi's tail he had fallen back in and was already hacking up the last Guardian Sapling fruit. _Manpuku, grab it and start going left!_

Manpuku hauled up the fruit and started going to the right.

_... Not YOUR left, MY left!_

"Oh! Sorry!"

Chibi just rolled his eyes and whacked at Anura with his glaive. _C'mon c'mon c'mon c'monnnnn..._

All of a sudden, the first of the demon lords gave out an agonized croak and sank back into the murky water. _Aaaaaand we're done!_

The caverns of Hana Valley faded away back to Akuro's Dark World, and Manpuku sighed. "Whew... I told you we make a good team, Pork Chop!"

_Why won't any of you learn my nam-hey, a switch..._

Chibi let Manpuku off and as he stepped on it, it did absolutely nothing.

_... I think this switch is broken. Or you need to step on it._

Manpuku shrugged and stepped onto the switch himself, pressing it down. A path appeared, leading to the next area. "I guess that means I'm the only one who can press this switch. Don't worry about me-you go ahead and I'll stay here!"

Chibi whimpered, but turned and began running ahead anyway.

This really was turning out to be the longest day of his life.

**0-0-0**

"You could have saved me a little sooner," Kagu grumbled as we rested on the island after taking out Sen and Ryo.

"How?! It took me five tries to time the bomb right!"

"... whatever. We're done with them now, and that's what matters." She got up and dusted her skirt off, then peered off ahead in the distance. "Isn't that... Kurow! We need to convince him to change his mind!"

"Without Chibi?"

"He'll catch up!" The Miko girl began dashing ahead, only to be stopped by the same cloud of dark aura that had concealed Sen and Ryo. "What? No! Not again!"

"We almost forgot about King Fury..." I muttered, running to catch up to her before we were both teleported into the Underground Ruins Depths.

And sure enough, King Fury was there, high above us. Kagu gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

"King Fury! You captured me the last time we met-but not this time!"

She proceeded to change into her Miko outfit in a flash of sparkles (thankfully), then darted up into the air.

"Can you tell? I'm no longer the same person as I was before!"

I glanced around. "Kagu? Yeah, that's great and all, but _we're on Daidarabotchi. _As in _we still need to stop this thing while fighting him._"

"... oh, great." She muttered, descending to the control panel. "I'll try and take care of this. Cover me, Lilac!"

"That was the plan." I slid out my brush and began catching the demon lord off guard wherever I was able-hitting him with a few wind gales when he tried to literally smite Kagu, a Cherry Bomb from any side of the arena, the works. Finally, Kagu just groaned in frustration and turned to me.

"We're going to lose for sure if we keep at this pace! I'm going up and exorcising him with my Miko powers. You take care of the controls until I come back down!"

She ascended to meet King Fury while I stared at the controls for Daidarabotchi. "Okay, I have _no _idea how to work this thing... What'd Kurow do? Something at the keypad..."

I grabbed a random switch and pulled it back, flipping it through several settings. The symbols on the keypad changed to other languages, and a grin slowly spread across my face.

_Moon Tribe, Japanese slash Nipponese, French... advanced Moon Tribe, I guess. English! Here we go!_

The symbols changed, and I set to work. One of the buttons read _Enter Command_, so I smacked it and began typing in whatever I could think of._ Stop Daidarabotchi. Halt. Freeze. Shut down._

Not even _shut down _worked. I gritted my teeth.

"The least you could have is a POWER BUTTON!" I snapped, before noticing a lever reading _Emergency Shutdown_. "... Why didn't Kurow use that the last time to _begin _with?!"

"Got him!" Kagu interrupted, descending next to me as King Fury was thrown to the ground. "We need to switch!"

"Pull that lever at the top right." I told her, not bothering to switch the language before dashing off to slash at the enraged Moon Tribesman's spirit.

**0-0-0**

"I am SICK of this catfish!" Nanami raged, climbing onto Chibi's back and effectively soaking him. He resisted the urge to shake out his fur and knock her right back off.

Bullhead didn't even bother to yell back that he was a carp.

"... ARGH!"

_I don't think these demons can talk to us. _Chibi blinked. _They're just here to get in our way._

"Well, fine, but I still hate him even if he won't talk! You saw him, he just tried to eat me!"

_He actually DID eat Kuni._

"Exactly!"

Chibi just yawned and flicked his tail, attaching the hook in Bullhead's mouth to the Konohana Blossom above them before painting several Cherry Bombs. _Will he just die already? We've been doing this for fifteen minutes! It's getting old._

"Yeah, it is." Nanami crossed her arms before leaping into the water and swimming to the next island. "Come on, Squiddy! We're almost the-"

She cut herself off by screaming as the catfish suddenly performed a cannonball over her. Chibi shook his head irritably.

_I'm sick of this catfish too._

**0-0-0-0-0**

_I would have included the Kurow fight, but until I get my energy back up to write it... you get Kurow AND Akuro tomorrow! _

_I don't hear any applause._

Why don't I hear any applause.

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: __**Hanataba ~ Your Flower Bouquet. **_

**Kagu: So review, everyone, before we close the curtains! ... Why aren't you reviewing?!**

Lilac: Kurow's a liar, I am NOT as bossy as she is.

Kagu: *leers*


	30. Hanataba - Your Flower Bouquet

_I had been planning on this chapter spanning all the way from the battle against Kurow to the end of the battle against Akuro, but this thing was... a lot longer than I expected. It's a bit much for a Senom299 fic._

See, I worry about you guys. And your heads exploding when I overdo it.

I care after all.

Surprise.

Also note that the syllable counts in the Hanataba lyrics don't exactly match up to the actual song. I have officially stopped giving any bricks. No more bricks. I now give none of them. I also give no bricks that I completely twisted up the finale here-that was my plan to begin with. Oh, we'll follow the base line again later, but we're not doing it this chapter. We're having a continuity nod party and we are having it NOW.

_Thanks to __**ShunpoGekigami**__ and __**The Pokemon Otaku **__for reviewing, as usual. You guys get... this big chapter._

Hope you guys like all the references that I wrapped up in gift boxes. I had a few for TWEWY fans last chapter, if you're wondering. This one's for everyone who remembers the first Okami. ... actually, Capcom threw some freebie TWEWY references into this chapter's lines, too, and they're not that hard to spot. No prizes for pointing them out here, though. Senom299 Wants Your Wallet Productions is comprised of exactly one cheapskate.

**Kurow: Senom299 doesn't own Okami/den or its corresponding characters, and only owns her OCs. She also doesn't own the Okamiden commercial song (Hanataba) or its actual translation, just... kind of owns the lyrics she wrote? I dunno, do those count?**

Senom: ... let's not encourage the lawsuits. I'm broke, remember?

**Lilac: You never stop reminding us.**

0-0-0-0-0

"Are you sure we should go after Kurow without Chibi?" I asked, pulling Kagu back as she started to cross the bridge between the two islands. "It just... it doesn't feel right."

She held my gaze. "I know you care about Pooch, but... Kurow's our friend, too. Pooch'll catch up. We need to talk some sense into Kurow-change his mind before it's too late."

And so we entered Kurow's arena.

"No one told me you learned how to fly." He commented, arms crossed and looking a lot like Waka at the moment. "Unfortunately, it won't help you beat Akuro. I'd be surprised if you could even scratch him... you're just a bunch of kids playing games."

"And you're not?" I challenged, stepping forward. "Last time I checked, you're a kid, too. And you were tricked right along with us into fighting King Fury... weren't you, Kurow?"

"I don't care what you say!" Kagu snapped. "I'm not backing down. Pooch, Lilac, all of us-we're fighting until the end!"

Kurow ignored me. "... Have it your way, then. You'll learn to give up. Hey, I know-it'll be fun to watch all of you lose to me at once! Let's round up the whole gang!"

He lifted his pendant toward the void, and Manpuku, Nanami, Ishaku, and Chibi all fell to the ground. Chibi just stared up, looking more tired than anything else. He didn't look like he was ready to face his brother, let alone Akuro.

"... You really are intent on fighting us, aren't you." Kagu sighed and shook her head. "You, Pooch, and Lilac-you were partners!"

"Yeah, man!" Manpuku chimed in. "We were all their partners at some point!"

"Exactly! And how many adventures did you three have?" Nanami piped up.

I exchanged a glance with Chibi as Kurow just shook his head. "Partners? No, I don't think so. I already told you once-I am alone. Got it?"

This seemed to finally break his brother. Chibi stumbled to his feet and trotted over in front of Kagu and I, leering at Kurow with an intensity that rarely came from him.

"Dude, you got something to say to me?"

_Yes. _Chibi began growling slightly. _We were your friends. We fought with you, worked together with you, saved Ryoshima Coast with you. And now you're turning your backs on us-turning your back on all of Nippon?_

"... Boy, you don't know me. You don't know who I am." The Moon Tribe boy held out his flute and drew out a lightsaber from both sides. "That's why I'm done talking to you."

Chibi's growling just escalated, and I pushed him out of the way. "Hold it! If anyone's fighting you, it's me!"

Kurow raised an eyebrow as I pulled out Dreamcatcher. "Listen to me, Chibi... you've suffered enough today. You've watched your grandfather die. You've been betrayed by your best friend and your brother. As your Celestial Envoy... I'm not going to stand idly by and watch you force yourself to fight your brother. And besides..." I offered a small smile. "Kurow and I-I think we've always had a score to settle. Am I right?"

Kurow rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Fine. Bring it, Storm Tribe. You against me-and we'll see which one of us is right."

Chibi gaped at me before nodding slowly and stepping back. _Li... good luck._

**Initiating Combat Mode - Boss Fight - Kurow**

Kurow instantly started off by making a drilling motion with his flutesaber at me, forcing me to duck out of the way and keep a distance.

"Scared?" He taunted. I gritted my teeth.

"No, I'm just not _stupid._" I slid out an Exorcism and hauled it at him before sliding away from another attempted slash.

The best thing about Exorcism Slips? They're basically homing missiles-only slips of paper.

So even though Kurow had gotten out of the way the first time, the slip of paper swerved around and hit him squarely in the back. He choked, doubling over and letting me paint a Cherry Bomb and blow it up in his face.

_Now _we were on equal ground.

"Kurow, come on." I begged, trying to grasp his emotions. All of them reflected pain, misery, and rage. "Come back to us. I know you're still in there."

"It's not like that." He coughed, pushing back up to his feet. "Don't you see it? This is _all of me._ I just made a choice, and here I am."

"Then what happened?!" I demanded, standing over him. "We've been fighting for days to find Akuro and beat him. What happened to you?"

He stared up at me and smirked.

"I got smart and went over to the winning side."

He slid his leg around, knocking me over with his _damned stiletto, _and rose up into the air. Almost instantly he became surrounded with a dark green aura that almost seemed to match Blight's. "It's time for me to stop holding back. And you, too."

He twirled his flutesaber and aimed to stab it into my chest just as I reached up, grabbed hold of his scarf, and flipped him over.

"What about the lady scholar that you had a crush on? Kurow, maybe you don't get it. If Akuro wins, everyone we've ever met in Nippon-including her, and probably _you_-is going to basically die! Hell, Akuro's probably planning on turning around and betraying you as soon as he gets what he wants!"

"This is what I hate about you." Kurow grumbled. "You're as bossy as Kagu, _and _you think you know everything."

"I _don't_!" I snapped back. "You listen here, you lunar lunatic-I'm the _same _as you! We come from the same tribe, almost! I'm cursed-you think I _like _being stuck in a little kid's body?-and weak, but I'm still following Chibi and doing everything I can to help him! And you, you're his _brother _and you'd turn your back on him?! After everything Chibi's done to help you! What if he hadn't been there when you'd broken out of wherever they had you locked up in Sei-An City? Oh, right, you'd just be locked up _again._ You needed him just as much as he needs you now!"

I gestured back to Kagu, Nanami, Manpuku, Ishaku, and Chibi. "We're all in this together, Kurow, and don't you dare try to say otherwise. I don't care what I have to do to knock some sense into you, but at this point it doesn't even matter. Look around you. Was this what you really wanted-to break apart everything we had? Does anything we said, anything we did back in Ryoshima Coast-everywhere we went!-before you turned your back on us mean anything to you?"

Kurow gritted his teeth, glaring up at me. "You still don't get it, do you? You're the last person who would see why I have to do this."

"No. I'm not." I shook my head and lowered my voice so that the others couldn't hear. "You're not the only tool of your tribe, Kurow. I know how it feels to be used."

His eyes widened as I stood up and brushed off my skirt, offering a hand to him. "Come back to us. Please. Chibi and I-we never stopped being there for you. That's... that's what friends are for."

Kurow paused, then turned away.

"... I already told you once. I don't have friends."

That did it. I dropped my spearblade and slapped him clean across the face.

"You're not hearing a word I'm saying to you, are you?!"

Kurow winced and rubbed his face before picking his flutesaber and pointing it at me. "We're not done here yet."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed Dreamcatcher off the floor. "We can keep at this all night and not get anywhere. If you're not going to listen to reason, are we going to finish this?"

He smirked. "Now you're speaking my language."

Before we could clash again, a mournful howl suddenly split the air and a blur of red and white slid between us. _Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it STOP IT! Both of you!_

"Now listen here, you two!" Ishaku yelled, perched between Chibi's ears. "I don't know _what _your deal is, but you're breaking Chibi's heart over here!"

The younger sun god stared between us with tears forming in his eyes. _Why? _He demanded. _You guys-you would always argue a bit, push each other around, but it was because you were those kind of friends that would bounce right back and have a good laugh about it... and now you're trying to kill each other!_

He turned to stare up at Kurow. _Li's right, but I don't want her beating the sense into you at all-especially if you're not getting the point._

The Moon Tribe boy gritted his teeth. "Listen to me, boy. You two _still don't get it. _This was my choice-and you can't change it."

"The hell if we can't!" I began to lunge forward, but Chibi blocked my path.

_Kurow's right-we don't get it. All we see is that we're on different sides now. I guess... I guess we can't actually change that. We didn't come here to fight Kurow-we came to fight Akuro._

I glared at Kurow over Chibi. "And I'm guessing you're not going to let us fight him, either?"

Kurow shrugged. "It was never actually my choice, dude. He probably thinks that since we stopped... he'll be coming for you any second."

"Coming _for _us?" I echoed, mood quickly going further south. And temper getting even shorter.

Abruptly, a portal opened behind us and began pulling everyone in. I grabbed Kurow by the scarf.

"Listen to me, Kurow." I whispered. "If you give up on Chibi now... give up on all of the people of Nippon... I'll see you in that darkness, and you will _never _hear the end of it from me."

"Yeah, you'll see me in the darkness." He held my glare. "But that's you admitting defeat."

I grinned hollowly. "Me? Admit defeat when we've come this far? I may be cursed, but at this point, everyone's given me something that you've given up on."

I let go, letting myself slide back into Akuro's portal.

"_Hope._"

Out of everyone in the party, I landed on the arena last, a few feet away from Chibi. I winced, rolled over, and pushed back up to my feet.

Apparently I'd taken a few seconds too many, because I was looking straight up at the possessed Kuni.

"Ammy dammit, can you _please _teleport somewhere else?" I snapped, jumping back and joining the rest of the party.

Chibi growled at Akuro as he tilted his head to the side slightly. "Tell me. Why didn't you finish off Kurow?"

_Because-_

"Because none of your _business_, that's why!" Ishaku declared. Probably a smart move on his part. "But don't you worry... we have no problems with finishing you off!"

"Really? I don't think you can."

And Akuro rushed forward, too quick for the eye or mind to really apprehend. Whatever he did, he knocked Chibi back and Ishaku off of his head. The younger sun god skidded across the arena floor, leaping right back up to his paws and growling a few moments later.

I gritted my teeth as Manpuku started forward. "Pork Chop! Don't worry, I'll help y-"

_No! Stay back! _Chibi snapped. _This is... this is my fight now. I don't want your help!_

"What the heck do you mean, you don't want our help?!" Ishaku demanded. Akuro rolled forward and slammed Chibi back again.

And again.

And again.

"Why won't he let us help him?!" Manpuku groaned, trying to step forward again. Kagu held him back.

"... He's been searching all over for that boy. And now he wants to do everything in his power to save him."

"He's not going to _have _any power left if he keeps this up!" I pointed out. Nanami nodded.

"Squiddy's gonna die if he doesn't fight back!"

Chibi slid back from another blow, letting out a slightly strained bark. Akuro just laughed darkly.

"How does it feel to be hurt by your own partner?" He lifted a hand, summoned a ball of energy, and hurled it at Chibi.

He never got the chance to dodge.

"You're weak. You have no power." The incarnation of Yami declared. "You have no will."

"He has more will than you." I muttered fiercely, joining Ishaku as he bounced over to Chibi's side.

"Chibi, you have to get up! You can't just lie there!"

"Come on..." I muttered, stroking his fur slightly. "Not when we're so close..."

The younger sun god didn't even seem to hear us.

"That's it!" Nanami pushed herself up. "I don't care what he says, I can't just stand here and do nothing!"

"Exactly!"

"Then let's do this." Kagu decided, rushing forward with Manpuku. Nanami followed behind them, actually mobile for once.

And Akuro was then revealed to be a honey badger, because _he did not give a shit._

With one hand motion, he sent a barrier toward the three of our partners, effectively trapping them. I swore under my breath, and Chibi lifted his head slightly, tears staining his fur.

_Then _he dropped them all through a black hole.

"Now the sun will set... on the Child of the Sun."

Akuro summoned another ball of energy, then enlarged it until it was _roughly _the size of Sen and Ryo's puppet.

That big.

Chibi let his head rest back down in my lap. _I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..._

"... Mutt..."

I blinked, then started shaking Chibi.

_Wha...?_

Kuni's body began trembling, and he glanced up at us. "Good... to see you..."

"Kuni!" Ishaku gasped. "Is that you?!"

_Kuni! _Chibi's head jerked up. Kuni cried out, the energy behind him dispelling and seeming to lose all hold on himself.

"_Mutt!_"

His body fell limply onto the arena floor, and Akuro's true form floated above him. The dark lord let out a roar.

"This vessel is mine! I will never part with it!"

Mechanical hands not unlike Yami's appeared with him, and he _ate Kuni._

That... really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone at this point.

Chibi tried to push himself up, but fell back onto the floor with a whimper. _Kuni... I have to... have to help him..._

I placed a hand on his fur, then bit back a gasp as his markings disappeared. "Chibi, no! Why _now_?!"

"Child of the Sun, and your Envoy!" Akuro boomed. "I am the ruler of darkness! And I will _not _suffer your meddling!"

"Shut the heck up already! C'mon, guys-" Ishaku turned around. "Guys?"

"My prayers aren't working!" I told him, trying to lend Chibi my energy. Small trickles of red appeared, but kept disappearing. "Chibi... please... we _need _you! Kuni needs you! Manpuku, Nanami, and Kagu need you!"

Tears began streaming down my own face as he tranformed, staring blankly at Akuro. "..._ I _need you..."

"I'm sorry... Momma..." He mumbled. Akuro began charging a blast of energy, and I wrapped my arms around my charge.

"... If this is the end for us... I'm coming with you."

Ishaku began to yell something out-probably our names-but it was drowned out by the sound of Akuro's blast, like an explosion.

And everything went black.

**0-0-0**

Six hundred years in the future, a cold wind wove its way along the shores of Ryoshima Coast. It followed the path less taken, snaking through the trees and diving down between the cliffs to circle around the rocks and rise back up to blow through the cracks in a blocked-off tunnel.

The breeze continued on its journey through the dim corridor, untouched by sunlight. The only source of any light was from the crystals lining the walls, each emitting an ominous red glow. It pushed through a thick pall of mist hanging in the air over the exit, which harbored what seemed to be void.

The ruins of Kaihinmura had been completely coated in the white mist, as if it had been heavily snowed upon or covered in a frosty veil. Despite its location near the shores, the air was thick with chills like in the winters of Kamui.

And in its center stood a cracked crystal statue, its guardian keeping his eyes on the sky.

The earth itself began to rumble violently, and pitch-black clouds rolled over the ruined village. A heavy rain began to fall almost immediately. Emil scowled, lifting a hand up to keep the water out of his eyes.

"You'd better know what you're doing, Frostbite."

The thunder played its drum, and jagged trees of lightning danced across the sky. A light began shining in the statue, flashing urgently as if issuing a warning. Whatever it was, he took the hint and leapt out of the way.

It was a good thing he did.

A pillar of lightning descended from the sky, striking the crystallized woman with full force. The ground shook even more vehemently, and pieces of the cliffs surrounding the ruins began to break off and smash against the soil.

And as quickly as it had begun, the storm receded to a light sprinkle. A glowing silhouette broke the chains binding it, and descended to the ground. Concealed in the veil of light, Sayuri gave Emil a slight nod before disappearing into the mist, and into the folds of time.

**0-0-0**

(**Play Mother - Homestuck (horizon ver.))**

It was impossible to tell how long I'd been lying there. It couldn't exactly be called lying, but couldn't really be called standing, either-there was literally nothing to stand _on_. No part of my body really seemed to want to move, either, so I could only assume I was dead.

But then again, if I were dead, I probably wouldn't be lying there in empty space, the events of that night reeling in my head and completely aware of my surroundings-or lack thereof. Maybe this was what Kagu had been forced through when King Fury had captured her-she'd know better than any of the rest of us, at any rate.

The memory reel slowed, and I strained to completely stop it. I was sick of watching Kurow betray us-watching the battle against Mimiru-watching Akuro attain Orochi's blood-watching the Goryeo sink under Ryoshima Coast's waves. All of it felt like it was scorching my brain and boiling my blood.

I couldn't feel anger here. Who was there to feel it toward? Akuro, obviously. I couldn't find it in me to forgive Kurow-he'd given me no reason. My rage against Sayuri had died down considerably.

Maybe the person I had most to blame was myself.

_My prayers weren't strong enough. I couldn't bring Chibi back to his senses... Maybe if I'd tried to take on Akuro on my own... but I _know _I'm not strong enough to fight an incarnation of Yami on my own! Celestial Envoy or not, Storm Tribe or not, even a member of an offshoot of the Moon Tribe is only human... or as human as we get, I guess._

_"Don't you think I would've come looking for you guys if I didn't know what you are, Li? Can't believe I was helping a defect."_

Was that it? Because I was a tool of the Storm Tribe, Sayuri's tool, everyone saw me as something just as good as an Imp-a demon?

_"I should have never taken your hand, Elza..."_

Somehow I found it in me to curl up into a ball, pulling my knees up to my chest and burying my face in my arms. It was true, I'd never really been completely friendly to Nanami. ... Or Kuni. I was pretty sure I'd had my fair share of stupid decisions made about Manpuku and Kagu somewhere along the way, too.

_"You're a pretty good actor... I wish we'd all seen through it sooner."_

Was that what it was? Was I just acting out a part someone had given me, not understanding its reality? Its gravity?

"It's all about resolve, dude."

**(End song; play Reset ~ Thank You. If you don't know what game it's from, get out of this archive. Get out. Now. Go. You have been eternally shunned.)**

I blinked, awareness slowly spreading through my numbed limbs, and stared up through the void. Kurow stood in front of me, his scarf tattered and clutching his pendant so tightly that it was puncturing his fingers.

There was no blood from the wounds.

"What comes after... it's not what determines who you are." He continued. "If you spend your whole life thinking about the outcome of your actions, not what's buried underneath that... your life won't mean a thing."

"Your resolve is what determines the value of your life." I murmured, and his pendant began to glow. Kurow nodded.

"You were right, dude. No one can turn back the clock. If it's all over... it's over. That's why I followed you."

"You should have gone to your brother." I told him, bringing myself back into a semi-standing position. "I'm not-"

"Everyone's not cut off from each other in this darkness." He interrupted. "It's just a matter of who you're connected with. And dude, we're all connected."

Small spheres of colored lights appeared around us, one by one. One an auburn flame, another a deep cerulean. One shone like a star or a spotlight, while another was a mix of every shade of autumn leaves. Beneath us, a muted pink glow radiated from Kurow's feet and what looked like a cloud of Kasugami's mist under mine. Above us was a dull red sphere.

"Boy's... he gave up." Kurow glanced up at the sphere. "Everyone else still wants to fight. Everyone else believes in him, but their prayers won't reach him."

"Is it my fault?" I asked, eyes widening. "Because I'm his-"

"It's not your fault." He shook his head. "Dude just got tired, I think. He's been through a lot, and after the beating Kuni gave him, I'd be surprised if he would've been able to stand up to Akuro. I don't blame him, and I don't blame you, either."

"... Then what about you?"

Kurow glanced away. "All right, I admit it. I was weak. But I heard you-what you were trying to say. I watched you guys try to fight Akuro, and I came after you when he wasn't looking. His attention's on Nippon right now, and soon it'll all be in this same darkness."

He held up his pendant, still glowing. "You know Waka, don't you? He's been contacting me through this thing. He was the one who told me my destiny. He told me the Celestial Plain itself is practically lost already."

My eyes widened. "So Amaterasu... everyone's..."

He nodded grimly. "All that's in the future from right now, though. Even the darkness obeys the laws of time. But he also said there's a way we can fix all this. And it's going to take me and you to do it."

"If we have a plan, lay it on me."

Kurow grinned at me. "I can't tell you my part. Sorry. But I can tell you what you have to do. Your his Envoy, so it's up to you to pull everyone together. It takes a lot of energy, but it _is _possible to escape this place."

"Energy... that's it." I returned the grin. "Emotion is energy in one of its purest forms-no, probably the purest. So I pull together everyone's emotions, and..."

"Break out." He nodded. "That energy just might bring... my brother... back to us. I need to get cracking on my side of the plan as soon as we leave, so let's get started."

I clasped my hands together, willing my voice toward the lights around us.

"... Guys. I know I was never the friend to you that Chibi was... I probably never will be. Kuni, Nanami, you guys know that most of all. And I guess Kagu can see right through my crappy acting skills if I try to pretend that I was."

Their lights shone upon their mention. Probably a good sign.

"Should you guys forgive me for being who I am? Maybe, I don't know. Kuni, if you're willing to look past every time I've called you Country... Nanami, if you're planning on ignoring how many times I've accused you of being a racist stalker... Kagu, a bit of bossiness can work out as far as leadership skills go, but before you became a Miko... I probably shouldn't finish that sentence, for fear of my safety."

Kurow snickered, and I turned to him.

"And all of the things I could say about _you_, you lunar lunatic, I'm going to keep locked up and throw the key into the spring in Agata Forest."

The fire seemed to dim slightly. "Manpuku, I'm not forgetting you. Your weight's not actually a bad thing. ... well, it might be, if you ask Chibi, but it doesn't make you a bad person."

It began to brighten again, and I continued.

"I'm not saying I'm perfect, either. I'm not exactly rainbows and sunshine-I've got a temper about as short as Ishaku is, and the best in people isn't usually what I'm the first to point out. But we all have it in us-Chibi showed us all that. Kuni, you didn't have to be the actual son of Susano to be a hero. I don't know who the hell you _are_, but you've got it in you to probably take down Akuro yourself and teach him not to steal your body. Nanami? You had it in you to forgive Kokari-and Kuni and I, seeing as how we're kind of human, too-for not being able to fight back against the pressure on him and almost literally serving you to the Demon Market. Kagu's obvious-your powers aren't a burden to you anymore, but a serious gift. Manpuku, we've already been over this."

Kurow raised an eyebrow as I turned back to him. "And Kurow... actually, I can't think of anything nice to say about you. All I can think of is that godawful noise you keep making on your flute."

He made to hit me on the arm with said flute, but Kagu stopped him. "You know she was kidding, Kurow."

"You know we all forgive you, Elza." Nanami chimed in. "After all, you and Squiddy were both always there for us! ... except when you tried to convince him to leave me there in that one part of the Pagoda..."

"I was kidding _there, _too."

"I actually don't think you ever said anything about my weight!" Manpuku declared. "Not even when we met, and that's usually the first thing people say about me."

"A sense of humor doesn't make you a bad person, dude." Kurow grinned, tapping his flute against his shoulder and looking even more like Waka than ever. "I think you and Kagu are pretty much the same as far as how bossy you are-but underneath all that, you're as _boss _as the rest of us."

There was a brief pause before Kagu smacked him with her paper fan.

"Dude! _Ow_! And _you_ don't have a sense of humor!"

Nanami winced. "Bad puns, on the other hand..."

I glanced up at the dull red sphere. "Come on, Chibi. It's not over yet. We're all here, and we all believe in you."

It stayed right where it was.

"Pooch..." Kagu crossed her arms. "He can't have completely given up. It's not like him."

"Then we need a little bit more to bring him back to us." I decided, looking Kurow in the eye. "I was supposed to do this all along, wasn't I?"

He shrugged. "Why talk when you can give the song in your heart a voice?"

**(End song; play Hanataba ~ Kie Kitano.)**

_"Surely down this solitary road_

_If I follow my heart with the flowers from your hand_

_If I hear a voice with no direction,_

_Won't you please lead me to my destination?_

_"No matter if it's rain or shine,_

_I'll hold onto your hand, I'll be your single support_

_I'm not sure what it really means to love,_

_but I think it just might be something like kindness..."_

Slowly, a spark like an ember began to swirl around in the red sphere. Chibi remembered.

_"It's slipping away, now: this time that we've cherished..._

_I'm certain that it's been decided somewhere_

_That time will carry on, you'll go on without me_

_Maybe then, you'll remember somewhere._

_"And even if it is too lonely to handle without me_

_But there's so many paths to run down;_

_Don't hesitate: we'll meet again someday!"_

Maybe I was imagining it, but out of the corner of my eye I could see several other lights joining ours-a blazing red twice the size of Chibi's, a more full hue of pink, one muted green and one bright, and one somewhat gray.

_"Surely someone is standing at the end_

_Of this trail that you've made of the flowers from your hand._

_If you find the land where dreams overflow_

_That's when you'll know that you've never walked alone._

_"Maybe it was wrong of me to live so silently_

_Maybe I just tried to hard to seem mature._

_I don't know if you saw it: that sparkle buried and locked away_

_The truth was, I'd forgotten how to smile._

_"And on a lonely summer day I stole the twilight from the sky_

_It escaped when I realized it was your hand:  
Reaching all along, holding that bouquet..._

_"No matter if it's rain or shine,_

_I'll hold onto your hand, I'll be your single support_

_I'm not sure what it really means to love,_

_but I think it just might be something like kindness._

_"Surely down this solitary road_

_If I follow my heart with the flowers from your hand_

_If I hear a voice with no direction,_

_Won't you please lead me to my destination?_

_"Surely someone is standing at the end_

_Of this trail that you've made of the flowers from your hand._

_If you find the land where dreams overflow_

_That's when we'll know that we've never walked alone."_

**(End song.)**

I stopped to catch my breath as Chibi materialized in front of us, his light sphere now blazing with the sun's power-his power. Tears were forming in his eyes again, tears of joy and not sorrow. His markings had returned to him, and his tail wagged almost furiously.

_Guys... Thanks. All of you._

Kurow glanced up at a white portal beginning to form above us. "That's it. We've got ourselves a ticket back onto Akuro's stage."

He got his wings out, hovering above us. "Well, it's time for me to move. Good luck against Akuro, you guys. I've got one last thing I have to do... alone."

"You're not alone, Kurow." I reminded him. "Don't forget that."

"I won't." He saluted, then practically threw himself through the portal. It began to descend, closer and closer to all of us. For a moment, I thought I could see figures behind the other party members-Amaterasu in her Celestial form, Waka, Issun, and the spirits of Rao and Himiko. And I swore I felt hands on my shoulders-one gauntlet-clad, the other bare.

And I knew.

None of us were alone.

We had never been, and never would be.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Let's play Count the References! And not get any prizes, because as mentioned earlier, Senom299 Wants Your Wallet Productions is comprised of exactly one cheapskate!_

_Warning: The update schedule may not be so daily for the next two chapters (not counting the Grand Chapter Whatever Special-it's coming, it'll just probably be at least two weeks after the epilogue). You MIGHT get the fight against Akuro tomorrow. Maybe. And even if you do, the epilogue'll take a while because tomorrow's the last day of spring break._

... I think a part of me just died inside from that realization.

So next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: **The Karma of Sacrifice.**

**Manpuku: Please review, everyone! ... Everyone got a turn these past few chapters, right?**

Kagu: Probably.

Kuni: But I-

Nanami: Yep, we all got a turn!

Kuni: You gu-

**Kurow: Absolutely everyone.**

**Kuni: ... I give up.**


	31. The Karma of Sacrifice

_Welcome back to Closer to the Rising Sun._

This is one of the shorter chapters, especially after last chapter's whopping 5k. But I figured it'd be best to leave it at where we left off and let the epilogue next time pull in more words.

_... I really don't have much to say, yet again. Thanks as always to __**ShunpoGekigami **__for reviewing._

**Akuro: Senom299 does not own Okami/den or its corresponding characters, and only owns her characters.**

**Senom: ... What? We weren't about to give him a REVIEW REQUEST.**

**Kurow: ...**

**0-0-0-0-0**

Something told me Akuro wasn't exactly expecting us all to come back through a portal that was basically an invert of his.

And as it turned out, for once, I was right.

We all-excluding Kuni-apparently he was still partly trapped- landed back on the same arena that we'd been on before, and Akuro was still there-with Ishaku. Apparently, the Poncle was keeping him busy.

"Now you listen here, you oversized, half-witted-" He paused in his bouncing and sword-waving to stop for breath, then resumed. "-half-witted-I already used that, didn't I-thug! Yeah, that's it! The great Ishaku's gonna-"

_We'll take it from here, Ishaku. _Chibi stepped forward, grinning. The Envoy whirled around and I could only assume he gaped.

"Chibi! But you guys-he-"

Akuro roared. Legitimately roared. "What is the meaning of this?! All of you were-"

The same spheres of light that Kurow and I had brought together earlier floated in front of us again. I smirked.

"You were wrong. Our will is a hell of a lot stronger than yours."

The incarnation of Yami began to tremble violently, but probably more in anger than fear. "This is impossible! The darkness-it is impenetrable!"

"You're wrong." Kagu crossed her arms over her chest. "We found the back door."

Chibi turned to me. _Li... I have a favor to ask you, my Celestial Envoy. I... I know that you're as much my partner as anyone else here, and I know that Momma and Issun fought alongside each other the last time Nippon was threatened._

I turned to Manpuku, Nanami, and Kagu. "Are you guys okay with this?"

"What I wouldn't give to be facing Akuro myself!" Manpuku grinned, but nodded anyway.

"I'd say it's an honor you deserve." Kagu agreed. "It's your turn to step into the spotlight."

" It's only fitting, right?" Nanami beamed. "You and Squiddy have been partners since the beginning, longer than any of us. You should be the ones to save Kuni together."

Chibi turned to the side, giving me a wolf-grin. I slid onto his back, pulling out Dreamcatcher and sliding it against the floor. His glaive hovered in front of us, and he grabbed it between his teeth.

"Akuro!" I called across the arena. "You haven't won yet. Nippon doesn't belong to you-and it never will. It's been a long night for all of us, but it's about to end. The sun is about to rise. _Chiisaki Taiyo_... let's go."

The dark lord growled as we rushed forward to strike. "You are all fools! Do you really think you could harm me, lord of both light and da-"

Chibi and I slashed across his gaping maw at the same time. It definitely _sounded _like we were harming him-and a lot more than either party had probably expected.

_It's Kuni! _Chibi realized. _We technically saved him too, even though he's trapped inside Akuro. Kuni's power isn't his anymore!_

**Initiating Combat Mode - Boss Fight - Yami Incarnate Akuro**

A slip of paper suddenly darted past us, and holy energy hit him with full force. When we turned around, Kagu was holding up her Prayer Slips. Manpuku and Nanami both had Exorcisms.

"We said you could take the spotlight. We never said we wouldn't still play supporting roles." The Miko pointed out. I rolled my eyes and turned back toward Akuro.

"Chibi, he's already weak. Just a few more hits."

He nodded and dashed forward again, tail flicking this way and that. Cherry bombs appeared all around our opponent.

A 'few more hits' was actually just 'a few more bombs'. With an agonized sound that may have been a roar, Akuro's mouth closed over his eye.

And then suddenly Chibi and I fell into a black hole that he had set in the floor.

"REALLY?!"

As it turned out, it actually lead to another arena, sporting a giant mirror. I narrowed my eyes at it while Chibi just tilted his head and trotted forward. "Wait, Chibi-"

_It's just a mirror... I think. _He stood in front of it, apparently not noticing the purple smoke and black-and-red claws coming out of it. His reflection suddenly became covered in Akuro's power, writhing and whimpering until it finally dashed through the mirror and shattered it.

His 'reflection''s fur was black, with glowing red markings as a mirror image of Chibi's own. His tail was covered in red ink.

The rest of the mirror exploded, and Akuro fell onto the darker Chibi's back in Kuni's body. I gritted my teeth.

"He took back control of Kuni..."

"Child of the Sun! I'm done toying with you!" Akuro declared, pointing Kuni's wooden sword at us. "You will now face your end!"

"Fat chance." I told him, jumping onto the real Chibiterasu's back. "This... this is our chance to save Kuni. Once and for all. This is it, Chibi. You can't back out this time."

_I wasn't going to._ He growled, circling around his reflection. _You take care of Akuro, and I'll take my copy._

"Right." I looked Akuro straight into the eye, looking past him and into Kuni. I could almost see those autumn colors in his eyes-the shades of a season forgotten in an eternal winter, only seeking the spring.

That light was still in him somewhere. And now it was my job to bring it back out for good.

**0-0-0**

"_I ask you_," the authoress demanded, standing on top of her director's chair and looking the very equivalent of soda-drunk, "what kind of finale is it in these studios where we _don't _break the fourth wall?"

"A miraculous one?" Issun suggested dully. She leered at him.

"One seriously deprived of _epicry _finale!" Senom swerved on her chair and collapsed to the floor. "... someone go get Crystal to help me out here."

"But she's in Traverse To-"

"Am I physically unable to carry out a finale? Yes? Then she's in the DreamScape."

The Miracle Seeker strolled in through the back door casually. "... I've been on break for the past month. What'd I do?"

Senom flailed on the floor and kicked her mechanical pencil toward her avatar.

"... Really?"

"Yes, really, now help me get this finale done before bad things happen. _Bad things._"

Crystal blinked, grabbed the mechanical pencil, and turned toward the set. She clicked the instrument of ultimate destruction again and again, performing the summoning ritual of the one, the almighty, the revered...

... the timeskip.

"That good enough for you?"

The authoress gave a weak thumbs up before passing out on the floor.

... what, were you expecting us to honestly go the entire finale without skipping something in an overly-dramatic manner? Think again.

**0-0-0**

So it was that about fifteen minutes into the fight, a long story short, we basically mauled Akuro.

Kuni was blown off across the arena, lying there on the floor when Chibi's reflection exploded. I slid off the younger sun god's back and followed over to our old partner.

"Mutt... I'm sorry... I didn't want to hurt you guys." He stretched his arm out, and Chibi placed a paw over his hand. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."

"It's not your fault." I told him firmly. "None of us knew what Akuro was up to until it was too late. The blame's not on any of us. Chibi-"

Ishaku suddenly bounced between us, gasping for breath. "Do you guys _know _how long it took me to get over here?!"

"... Way to ruin the moment, Ishaku."

"It's about time we put a stop to Akuro, anyway!" He bounced onto Chibi's head, also effectively reminding us that Akuro wasn't actually done yet. The incarnation of Yami hovered high above us, looking back and forth as if searching for something.

"... I cannot access my full power without a suitable vessel..." He grumbled, like anyone actually cared. Suddenly, a flash of pink and purple appeared before us and Kurow stood at the center of the arena-between us and him.

"Master! Please... use me as your vessel."

He stretched his arms out, looking like he was welcoming an old friend. Akuro circled around him as Chibi stood there, dumbstruck.

_Is he...?_

"I don't know." I muttered, staring.

"You... you are one of the Moon Tribe, are you not?" Akuro stopped in front of him. "I suppose I could do worse for a vessel."

Kurow didn't even flinch as the demon lord stole his body. After the two merged, he glanced at his hands and just... laughed.

Chibi whimpered at my side and Kuni pushed himself up into a kneeling position. "Not again..."

Akuro pulled out Kurow's flutesaber, pointing it at us. "Now, where were we?"

"Are you kidding me? We have to fight him _again_?!" Ishaku demanded.

"You never fought him to BEGIN with!"

"That's not the point!"

Suddenly, Kurow's flute fell to the floor, and Akuro seemed to be paralyzed. "No... what is this? I can't... can't control this body..."

"Do it." Kurow's voice spilled out past Akuro's. "Do it now."

"Is that..." Ishaku paused on the ground. "That's Kurow, isn't it?"

Kurow began apparently wrestling with Akuro for control of his body. "You have to put me down if you want to defeat Akuro. This... this is your only chance."

_Kurow... what have you done... _Chibi's eyes widened.

"You're not making sense, kid!" Ishaku snapped. I resisted the urge to kick him off of the arena.

"No... you have to do it. This is... my destiny." Kurow's voice was strained.

"This was your part of the plan." I realized. He nodded weakly.

"My body was created... as a seal for Akuro." He held his hand up-the puncture wounds from his pendant remained, but there was still no sign of any blood. "A member of the Moon Tribe, Waka-he made a doll that was a copy of himself... That doll was me. He's in there now, inside me. I can't hold him for long, but if I die, Akuro dies with me!"

"You're a living doll...? How is that possible?" Ishaku asked slowly. I shook my head.

"The Moon Tribe is capable of a lot of things."

"Like I said, I'm not like the rest of you." Kurow seemed to be back in some sort of control, holding his hands out in front of him and trembling violently. "That's why I... I've always been alone. I was afraid my destiny would be like this, so... I avoided finding out what it was."

Tears began to form in his eyes. "I mean, who wants to end up as nothing more than... a copy? A soulless copy? That's why I ran away, tried to avoid my fate. I threw my hat in with Akuro. Pretty pitiful, huh? I couldn't bear the weight of my own destiny... I... I was weak..."

"... that's one heck of a story." Ishaku muttered. I stepped forward.

"Kurow..."

"You guys... you tried to save me before. Thanks for that. You really were... the best partners a dude could have."

He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. "I'm sorry... I can't keep him in any longer. Hurry... do it... beat Akuro. I'm not doing this because I have to... it's because of... everything I saw. For the world itself... And... for everyone I met."

He stood back up slowly. "I'm... I'm ready. That's how I feel. I _want _to do this... So what are you waiting for? Do this one last thing: for your partner."

Tears began streaming down my face, and Chibi's, too. Ishaku bounced between us.

"Chibi... c'mon. you gotta do it."

Chibi shook his head, backing away. _He's... he's my brother! I can't... can't kill him..._

Ishaku paused, then leapt onto his nose. "You _idiot_! You gotta do this! Kurow is _ready _for this! I know this has gotta be tough for you, but you gotta do it for Kurow!"

Chibi trembled for a moment, then shook off his tears and let out a long, mournful howl.

_... Kurow... I'll do it._

"Hey! H-hold up, you guys!" Kuni dashed up behind us. "I'm doing this with you."

He leapt onto Chibi's back, held his sword up skyward, and suddenly transformed so that he was clad in Nagi's armor. I covered my mouth with one hand.

"I thought only Nagi's descendants could wear that... but you said-"

"This armor... it feels weird. Like it's a part of me." Kuni muttered. "I feel like it's giving me power."

"The power to slay Akuro." I nodded, stepping back. "Guys... do it. For Kurow."

Akuro roared from Kurow's body. "Release me! _Free me now_!"

_Fat chance. _Chibi told him, taking a few steps back.

"Chibi! Kuni! It's time to end this reign of terror!" Ishaku declared. I pulled out my brush and pointed it skyward, just as Chibi dashed forward to Kurow.

I had to close my eyes as they slashed at Akuro, painting a circle around Kurow. My last gift to him. The tool of the Moon Tribe collapsed back onto the floor in a flurry of cherry blossom petals, and Akuro rose up into the air high above us, roaring with pain and fury. He exploded in a cloud of shadows, releasing Manpuku, Nanami, and Kagu onto the arena with us.

**Exiting Combat Mode.**

The Dark World disappeared, teleporting us back to the Moon Cave. We all knelt beside Kurow, Kuni holding him up.

"You guys did good. Real good." Kurow told us weakly. A large gash ran across his chest, revealing sparking circuitry beneath it. "You're all... stand-up dudes..."

"Kurow... you fool..." Kagu leaned down to stroke his hair. "You know that scholar lady was looking forward to your date..."

"Ah, right, the hot scholar lady." He stared up at the sky above us. "Tell her... I'm on a trip. A very long, long trip... okay?"

Kagu nodded, blinking back tears herself. "I'll tell her."

Chibi stepped forward and began nuzzling Kurow's arm, whimpering softly. At the same time, his pendant began glowing furiously.

The Moon Cave around us disappeared, turning into... what looked like it may have been the _inside _of his pendant. We were surrounded by images, memories, of what looked like Kurow's life.

"_Good! We're gonna be a stellar trio, dudes!"  
_

"What... what is that?" Kurow tried to look up. "They're like... memories from my adventures... "

The images circled around us, and I picked out several of them. The two of them running from the Witch Queen in the Demon Market while I was in Ryoshima Coast-the three of us standing up to King Fury-he and I taunting each other in the Underground Ruins...

"_Ha-ha! Dude, what a rush! Ain't nothing gonna get in our way!_"

"_Humans ain't half as bad as you make them out to be. Mr. Sugawara... you are so wrong on this._"

We reappeared in the Moon Cave, and Kurow sighed.

"... those were some good times, dude."

"Kurow... listen." Ishaku bounced over. "It doesn't matter if you're just a copy of that half-baked, flaky prophet. You're you. Those are _your _memories from _your _adventures. You see what I'm trying to tell you? You ain't just some walking, talking doll."

"He's right! You're Kurow!" Manpuku jumped in. "And you're a hero! You took down Akuro!"

"And you're one of Squiddy's partners, too!" Nanami chimed in. Kurow looked about on the verge of tears himself, now that everyone had joined in the bawl-fest.

"You guys... don't cry for me. It was my fault... everything... I was weak."

"Hey, I was weak, too." Manpuku pointed out. "I caused problems for my mom, and Pork Chop, too."

"It was the same with me." Kagu spoke up, stroking Chibi's fur. "Until I met Pooch. That changed me. I'm sure you were also changed."

"None of this was your fault." I placed my hand over his. "You did what any of us would have done if we'd been in your position.

"No doubt." Kuni nodded. "I know because we've _all _been Mutt's partners at some point in time."

"Kurow. We're all connected." Kagu told him. "And you're not alone. You never were."

Chibi offered a weak smile. _We've always been there for each other._

"Right! You don't have to feel alone!" Nanami added. Kurow grinned, his breathing starting to slow.

"Thanks... all of you. I mean it. I... I don't feel alone. I have friends..."

Chibi licked away his tears, and Kurow wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Especially you, boy. We had a lot of good times, dude. I'm... I'm glad I got a chance to live..."

He took a last, shuddering breath, and his arm fell limp on the ground. Chibi transformed and laid there, head buried in his brother's chest and sobbing. I placed a hand on his shoulder, using the other to try and wipe the tears away from my own eyes.

And then I saw her-a silhouette standing on top of the broken Torii Gate leading into the shrine.

I locked gazes with Sayuri. She nodded once, then disappeared into the dawn.

Nippon had been saved, and the ultimate price paid.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_I'm not going to lie to you guys: I felt like I was bawling on the inside during this chapter. Unfortunately, my heart is a rock and refused to let me physically cry over it, but I was in tears on the inside._

I think that counts for something.

_Next time on Closer to the Rising Sun: _**Epilogue - The Journey Continues. **_As I type this, the chapter is over halfway finished. I can't tell you for sure when exactly I'll upload it-probably within the next week._

_After that, there'll be a gap in fanfiction uploads, period. Project Reverse-not that anyone cares-is officially on hiatus, and I'm going to take my time starting Eye of the Storm. Probably a few weeks. It'll definitely have begun before the end of April, at which point I'll have written at least three chapters and have a legitimate update schedule that I'll plan to keep to._

So for now...

_Until we meet again._

**Kurow: ... Please review, dudes.**

Chibi: *bawls* Kurow... whyyyyy...

**Lilac: *goes off to find tissues***


	32. Epilogue - The Journey Continues

Ishaku sent all of us back through another rift in time and space (excluding Manpuku), and we all split up. Kagu and I volunteered to bring Kurow's body to a final resting place, while Chibi and Kuni went to take Nanami back to Agata Forest's lake to pay Kokari a visit and then go back to Kamiki.

"So this was your idea?" Kagu asked as we stood on the shores of Ryoshima Coast. I nodded, letting Kurow down onto the sand.

"We met him in Sei-An City, but I don't think there's anywhere we could lay him to rest there that he'd appreciate. He never really liked the water, but he'll always be close to the nearest we could get to home for him. I don't think we'd be able to bury him near Sugawara without attracting the scholar's attention, so..."

"I understand." She nodded. "So we let him go in the water?"

"Kurow liked to think of himself as a traveler." I stared out at the ocean. "This way, he might always be traveling... It's impossible to tell, with the sea."

I picked him back up. "Help me get him out a ways into the water. When it's waist-deep, we stop. You're okay with getting your Miko outfit a bit wet, right?"

Kagu snorted. "I think Miko Cho will understand."

We walked out a few feet into the water. Kurow's body was practically buoyant on its own already, so we let him go there.

I took out my brush and summoned a gale to the south, carrying him away into the ocean. Kagu and I stood there for a few minutes, paying our silent respects before heading back onto the sand.

"... Everything's over now." Kagu spoke up. "What are you and Pooch going to do now?"

"I'm not sure." I admitted. "I think it's about time we went back to see our families-Chibi needs to see his parents on the Celestial Plain, and I guess I'm supposed to go with him."

"Your home isn't here in Nippon, isn't it?" The Miko girl stared back out to the shining waters. The sun had risen a good height in the sky by now. "Even though you're a member of the Storm Tribe. Neither you nor Pooch are... well, normal."

"Am I allowed to say it's my secret where I'm from?" I grinned slightly. She nodded.

"I'm not going to intrude on your business. As for me... I've heard rumors on the streets of Sei-An that there's a Miko being trained to rise up and ascend to the throne Queen Himiko left behind seven months ago."

I swore she was grinning herself. "Lilac, I think they mean me. One day I'll be the overseer of Sei-An City-maybe all of Nippon."

"Think they'll let you perform plays across the country?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Maybe. It's a big responsibility, but..."

"You can handle it." I told her. "You're one of the strongest people I've ever met on the inside. I think you've got what it takes to be as good of a ruler as Himiko was."

Kagu nodded. "Thanks... for everything. Think we'll meet again someday?"

"I'd count on it." I offered her my hand. "I'm going to go meet Chibi and Kuni in Kamiki Village. And thank you, too."

She took it for a moment, then turned and left for Sei-An City. I spent one last moment looking out to the ocean.

"Bye, Kagu. Bye... Kurow."

On the way north to Agata Forest, I stopped by the ruins of Kaihinmura. The entrance was still sealed off, but something gave me the feeling it was for the better. Emil probably knew I was leaving Nippon, anyway.

It took the better part of an hour to reach Agata, and Nanami was already splashing around in the lake. I made my way over to the water's edge to meet her.

"Hi, Elza!" She burst out of the water, grinning broadly. "Squiddy and Kuni left an hour ago, if you're wondering."

"I'll catch up." I shrugged. "You already know Chibi and I are pretty much going our own way now, right?"

"Oh, I figured." The mermaid girl shrugged, lying on her back in the water, and looking upside down to stare at me. "Kagu, Manpuku and I talked about it earlier. We figured you and Squiddy wouldn't stick around forever-I mean, none of us know where you're really from."

"Right."

There was a brief pause.

"Elza? It's been nice, traveling with you and Squiddy." Nanami spoke up, turning over in the water so she was lying on her stomach. "Thanks."

"Why is everyone thanking _me_?" I raised an eyebrow. "It's Chibi we all have to thank. If it weren't for him, none of us would have become who we are now."

"But you were the one who brought us together in the darkness!" She pointed out. "If it hadn't been for you-"

"And Kurow." I reminded.

"-for you and Kurow, Nippon would be lost. I think you deserve to be thanked just as much as any of the rest of us."

"Thanks to you, too." I reminded. "I mean, we wouldn't have been able to get to the Sage Shrine without you. Or gotten through the Pagoda. ... Sorry again about trying to leave you in there, by the way."

"We were already over this." Nanami rolled her eyes. "I'll see you someday, Elza! Count on it! ... Oh, and Manpuku told me to tell you and Squiddy he says thanks, too."

"Is he following through on that diet?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe. We might never know."

I grinned and stood up. "Or we might find out one day, if we need to band back together again. We're all a team now, right?"

"Right!" Nanami let herself dive back into the water for a few seconds, then sprang back up. "So we _will _see each other someday! I'm going to stay here in the forest for a while with Kokari, then I'll go back to serving Otohime. I'm sure she's just as proud of us for what we've done."

"See you around, Nanami." I nodded, turning around and starting out through Agata Forest. For some reason, it felt even more nostalgic walking under these trees than it ever had. I could almost hear Waka's flute.

Actually, it might not matter where I stood in Nippon-every step I had taken carried a memory with it. From deep under the sea in the realm of the Dragonians to the top of Mount Ezofuji in Kamui, I had something to remember.

And this country felt more like home to me than ever.

"Funny, isn't it?" I began talking myself as I passed through the tunnel leading to Shinshu Field. "I didn't even grow up here, but... the old world _is _like my home."

The field spread out in front of me, and a sweet breeze passed by as I stepped out into the sunlight. Cherry blossom petals flew on the wind to destinations unknown, probably from Hana Valley. And across the hills, Sakuya's tree towered over the cliffs around Kamiki Village.

There wasn't a single Demon Scroll in sight. It seemed as if we had really saved Nippon, once and for all.

"So what's left?" I continued, staring up at the clouds. "The Celestial Plain has to be safe, too. How's Chibi going to get back up there, anyway?"

Suddenly, I had the mental image of the Ark of Yamato crashing down in Shinshu Field.

That was something that I wasn't sure if I wanted to happen.

Suddenly, I realized that the breeze from before hadn't actually continued its passage off into the distance, and had instead chosen to start circling around me. It ruffled my hair, now considerably longer and tied back near the bottom, and my skirt, now a familiar shade of blue.

I was fifteen again-not the same as when I'd left Nippon nine months ago, but the scar on my shoulder healing and my clothes an attempt at replicating the originals. Sayuri had lifted the curse she had placed on me.

I turned around, back toward the tunnel, somehow expecting her to be nearby. The Storm Tribe girl was nowhere in sight.

Across the field, a familiar bark carried on the wind, and I turned to dash over the hills and across the bridge. Chibi and Kuni were standing outside Kamiki Village.

Kuni just gaped as Chibi leapt into my arms, transforming halfway and wrapping his arms around my neck. "Li? Is that you?"

"Pre and post curse." I grinned. "Surprised?"

"... Sheesh, it would've been awkward if you hadn't been." He blinked. Chibi snuggled against my shoulder, giggling.

"Li, we did it! We _did _it!"

"Yeah, I know, I know." I let him back down on the grass, letting him transform back and scratching him behind the ears. "We... we all did great."

_Sakuya said we saved Nippon for good! _He beamed. _Momma's gonna be so proud! Isn't she?_

"Definitely."

Kuni just stood back, offering a weak smile. "... I need to go, I guess."

I stood up straight. "Wait, what? Kamiki's your home, isn't it?"

He shook his head. "I sort of grew up here, but I've been thinking ever since Akuro took me over... I'm not the son of Susano, but I was able to wear Nagi's armor. And I was able to fight that big toad back in Hana Valley, and he said only a descendant of Nagi could touch the Guardian Sapling's fruit. So... I need to go on my own adventure now. I need to know who I really am."

Chibi began whimpering slightly. I paused, looking over him.

"Do you know where you're going to _start_?"

"Well... no..." He admitted. I rolled my eyes, then something caught my eye.

The red tips in his hair.

"... well, I've got an idea." I grinned broadly, took him by the shoulders, and turned him toward the cliffs in the distance. "You see that... monument... tower... thing? There's a tunnel in there that leads to the Northern Land. I'm not sure, but I think that's the best place for you to start."

"You mean the land where all demons come from?" He blinked.

"Not anymore, they don't. That's a long story that's only partly true, anyway. But just trust me on this one. Look for the village of Wep'keer when you get there."

Kuni paused, then nodded. "Thanks, Li. I guess I'll see you and Mutt again someday."

I rolled my eyes. "I've been over this with Kagu and Nanami already. Go have an adventure."

He nodded, then turned and started running off on the path, waving back to us as he went. Chibi and I stood back to watch.

_Think he'll be okay on his own? _He asked slowly.

"It's the stubborn ones that never die." I shrugged.

And then we both had to duck out of the way, because a bricking _flying saucer _sped over us.

"What the he-_Issun_?!"

I could almost hear him cackling maniacally as he turned around and came to a stop in front of us, opening the hatch.

"Impressed? Gen fixed this sucker up for me!"

"More dumfounded than impressed." I muttered. "How much did you _pay _for that thing?"

"Oh, y'know, about as much as we paid for all that paper back in Sei-An." He waved a hand nonchalantly. "Hey, you got your old body back."

"And you got a flying scrap heap. Looks like we're even."

Chibi beamed. _Miss Sakuya gave him permission to take me up to the Celestial Plain to see Momma!_

He paused. _... I don't think that thing's gonna fit you, Li._

I glanced between them, then shrugged, fighting to keep the thick disappointment weighing on my chest out of my voice. "Go without me. Tell my grandparents I-"

"You what?"

I crossed my arms, sighing and not even bothering to turn around. "_Why _didn't I see this coming, Oni."

"Because you have the best grandfather ever?"

Chibi began nuzzling his hand, and I turned around to embrace my grandfather. Issun coughed behind us.

"Oh, yeah, _he _comes along and suddenly I'm not here anymore."

"Least it's not Waka." I told him over my shoulder. Oni chuckled in my ear.

"Hope you're up for seeing prophet again. You didn't really think you wouldn't be able to go to the Celestial Plain, would you? You're a real Celestial Envoy now... Frostbite."

The weight that had been pressing against my chest suddenly lifted, replaced with what might have been some fluttering, childish excitement. "Really? I get to go with you all?"

"Why not? You've definitely earned it." His tone suddenly turned distant. "Both of you..."

I paused, then pulled his arms off of me and crossed mine over my chest. "I don't like that tone. What's going on?"

Chibi cocked his head to the side as Oni just shook his head hurriedly. "Nothing! It's just... well, you guys'll see. Issun, you take Chibi to the Celestial Plain, and I'll take Li."

I looked up at Issun, and he saluted. Chibi leapt onto his saucer. "Don't worry about us! I know how to pilot this thing!"

There was a pause.

"For the most part!"

I rolled my eyes as Issun closed the hatch. Chibi gave me a wolf grin.

_See you there, Li._

"See you there." I raised a hand to shield my eyes, watching Issun work at the control panels and give a thumbs up before zooming off into the sky. Across Shinshu Field, Kuni was doing the same.

"Ready to go?" Oni brought me back down to earth, and I nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

He took the stopwatch chain around my neck into his hands, twisting the dial a few times and pushing it in at random intervals. "That should do it. We get the easy way there."

"Should I be surprised?" I raised an eyebrow.

"By what you find there, or the fact that we get the easy passage?"

"Both."

My grandfather sighed. "That's up to you. I'm gonna be honest with you, Frostbite-you're not going to expect what's waiting for you two."

As we both began to disappear, he took my hands in his. "Whatever you see, promise me something. You'll remember your grandmother, Waka, Amaterasu and I for who we are."

"I'm going to see the end result of Sayuri's 'project', aren't I?" I asked.

I never got my answer.

Oni had teleported us in the middle of a dark forest, looking almost exactly like Agata Forest. A fire was burning somewhere in the trees, and an eerie orange glow painted the trees around us. Embers floated through the air, and shadows danced across the bark.

It took me a moment to realize who the shadows were-and what they were doing.

I pulled myself out of my grandfather's grasp, rushing forward. The fire's glow was reflected in Lily's eyes as she swung her hammer, breath labored and eyes harboring an insanity I'd never seen in her before. Waka countered her, slashing at her arm with his flute and leaping back before she could land a hit.

"What the _hell _is going on here?!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_And that's a wrap for this volume of A Lily Blooming in Nippon. Yes, I left you guys on a serious cliffhanger. From here on out, we tread in territory unexplored by canon-the Celestial Plain itself, and the effects of Akuro's brief reign upon it._

_At this point in time, I'd like to thank every last one of my reviewers for supporting me through this little adventure of its own. _

_Thanks to the following: _**7Aces, TheGreatMikeyWeston, TheManWithBacon, Spirits and Shadows, Sakuragami, Daughter of Kabegami, The River Flows, Miyuki Frostleaf, OkamiAmaterasu2015, ShunpoGekigami, Heat Haze Days, The Pokemon Otaku, and an array of Guests who were more than likely mentioned above and just were too lazy to log in. **_As Kurow would say... you're all stand-up dudes._

*murdered with a flutesaber*

But in all seriousness, thanks. To all of you. I know my updates were incredibly chaotic, and not always the best thing you could read on this archive (Why read about what Li's up to when you can see what Alex is up to or catch up on Through a Sue? To be fair, we've had some pretty good next-door neighbors in fanfics. 

_Let's just say I don't think Li's the only one who's matured over the course of this volume. To be honest with you all? I can't believe this volume is finally over. I feel like I've grown up a bit-as both an author and as a person-as it passed by. Or maybe that's because it spanned a month short of the entirety of this school year. Either way, it's been a huge part of this school year and I'm glad to have finally written it._

_Maybe that's true for all writers. Our stories are an experience, just like anything we witness in the 'real world', and we become better people for pulling through them._

_Anyway, I'm going to extend another thanks (though he'll probably never know or acknowledge it) to _**LuckySevenDX **_on YouTube. I've stuck with his LP of Okamiden as a reference since the very beginning, even when Chuggaaconroy started his. Lucky's a brilliant Let's Player and I recommend him to all of you. I know you're probably never going to know just who the brick I am, but thanks for providing an amazing reference._

_I'd also like to thank members of what you guys know as the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny (USUD) group for supporting me through this volume, even if they didn't review: _**TheGreatMikeyWeston **_and _**TheManWithBacon**_, extra cookies for reviewing, and another thanks to _**Pinkdesi101 **_and _**MysticDragon21. **_I don't know where I'd be without you guys._

_What's next? Well, the Grand Chapter Whatever special will definitely be out by the end of next month. Eye of the Storm will probably start within the span of the next few weeks-almost definitely before the end of April. I'm going to keep exactly what happens then a secret, but the title and epilogue here just might be hint enough._

Let's just say my business in the world of Okami isn't finished yet.

_Once again, thanks to all of you-my reviewers, my reference, my friends, and __**you**__. Whether I mentioned your name or not, the fact that you're reading this text means that you're taking in this story. Just that alone makes you deserving of my thanks-the fact that you're sitting here, reading the ending of the third volume of my most cherished series._

_I guess I can't close things out without thanking Lilac herself. Real or not, she's as much a part of my life as anyone in reality. She's stuck it out with me longer than any OC, and probably deserves a lot more than the simple words I'm giving her now. I promise you can take a vacation this week, Li. You've definitely earned it._

_And thanks-of course!-to Capcom and Clover Studios, for creating a masterpiece worthy of this archive full of amazing people. Thanks to the FFN staff, too? Sure, why not! I don't think you guys care about one small author out of many, but you deserve to be thanked for maintaining this site for us._

_And now... I believe I've said everything that needs saying._

_It's time to close out in style._

_I'm Senom299 of TheCrazyAuthors, signing out._

**The End/Owari.**

See you next time!


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